A World Not Quite My Own: Raven's Side Story
by RavingKangaroo
Summary: I have taken my comic OC and put her into a Star Wars side story. Raven is kidnapped from Earth and taken to the Death Star, where she becomes Vader's apprentice. MLaaTR character are mentioned, but not present, so It's not really a crossover.
1. I am a prisoner 1

-September 6th, 2011-

Raven sat on the couch watching the television, her mind slipping from reality. She couldn't believe that two years have already slipped by... she was now a Senior at Tribbleton High. It felt only like yesterday that she just arrived to America from her small town in Essex, England.

"Yes indeed, today is the official day. The first passenger ship will be leaving to the moon in about half an hour from now, and every one is getting excited here in Houston. This is truly a day of history. More info will be giving after the break."

Raven rolled her eyes. Big deal, she thought. Sure, it's pretty cool that humans have finally got a space ship developed to travel from the moon and back in perfect condition, just like an airplane, but what was there to do or look at once on the moon? Seemed like a big waste of money, than anything. Raven tipped her head back and started to think deeply. It was shocking to see how much everything had changed in just two years. Not just technology, but all her friends around her; they have changed so much.

Brad got much taller and muscular. He was now a popular guy just like how he always wanted. But was still the sweet old fella Raven remembered. Tuck was already in middle school and was almost as tall as Raven. It startled her a little bit, remembering when he was just a small boy that came over to her house everytime when he knocked yet another basball into her upstairs window; just yesterday it seemed. Sheldon hadn't changed much physically, but has gained great social skills. For a while even had Jenny as his girlfriend in their Junior year. Much progress for him. But Jenny... she hadn't changed at all throughout the years since she was a robot. And just a month ago something went wrong with her cercets and she stopped opporating. Ever since then, she's been up in Dr. Wakeman's study. Wakeman had said it would take a while to repair Jenny without harming her memory system. But without Jenny, Tuck and Brad were sad and miserably bored, Raven was depressed and leaving Sheldon to cry himself to sleep every night.

Then Raven's mind began to wander a little farther. Farther than it had gone before in a long while. She thought of Austin.

How much she missed him was undescribable. She wondered how much he had changed too. If he had gotten buff like Brad, or prehaps talented with the ladies like Sheldon. She also wondered if he thought of her still. Or has he been able to let go of her unlike she has for him?

These thoughts began to depress her. Raven got up from the couch and clumsily began to ascend up into her work room. Up in there, she was able to think and let her creativity run wild. She got up into the room and looked around. She gave a heavy sigh when her eyes lay fixed on a large box next to her desk. In that box lay the remains of Purple, her robotic hound. Jenny wasn't the only robot that wasn't fuctioning these days. Purple also had broken down and stopped working. But Raven clearly knew why. Purple wasn't as advanced as Jenny and his brain circuits need replacements. But unfortunately, Raven couldn't afford replacements. All her money was going towards collage classes she would be taking next year. Once I'm done with school completely, Raven thought, I'll get him up and running again. But for now, Purple lay in pieces in the box so that he wouldn't be in the way.

Raven plopped herself down in the chair at her desk. Her sketch book of plans lay out in front of her. It depressed her to see all of her wonderful plans ready for action but she lacked money to start any projects.

One of her recent project ideas was going to be pretty pricey. She had designed a large hand held glowstick. A glow stick that was only a handle shaft that would extend to its magnificent glow by a push of a button. It was somewhat like a sword and switch blade combinded, except it wasn't a weapon, but merely a tool of entertainment while raving. The trouble she had for this piece was she wanted to design it to where the glow wouldn't fade and would last forever. The only idea she had for that was to fill it with plasma or some kind of heated chemical that gave off a neon glow. But that would only make it dangerous. She laughed to herself. Or some kind of dorky sci-fi weapon, she thought. Still, she wished there was something else to make a beautiful glow...

Raven put her hand to her forhead as she thought some more about it. She got distracted from her poundering when she heard voices coming from outside of the house. She looked up to the window and peered out. Down in the streets, she saw her neighbors crowded together and looking up at the sky. They seemed to be talking nervously among themselves about something. Raven tried to lower her head and peer up at what they were looking at, but could not see past the roof of her house. She wondered if it was the space ship that was taking off they were looking at. But that couldn't be... they were all the way up in Mishigain. They couldn't see the ship taking off from all the way in NASA, Houston.

Raven sat up from her desk and walked back down the stairs. She came to her door and opened it, walking out on her lawn. She took one last look at the neighbors who figdeted and whispered among one another before she looked up to the sky. She stopped dead in her tracks.

Up in the sky, right next to the sun, was the moon.

Raven squinted up at it and cocked her head. What the bloody hell? The moon next to the sun in the middle of the day... it made no since. No wonder the neighbors were acting so strange. Raven walked over to the people in a circle, only to make it morph away around her. As if she was some kind of sick disease that repeled everything away. They all stared at her uncomfortably. You would think they would be use to her by now. But no, she was still the creepy girl that came from the United Kingdom. Raven stood uncomfortably around them, the silence and their stares making her face flush a little. "Um... wot's going on?" she croaked.

One of the old ladies that liked her the least flared her nostrils at Raven. "What do you think, missy?" She jabbed her finger up to the sky, "The moon is out too early! God is punishing us and making the moon raise the ocean's water so that we will all flood out and-"

"Alright, I know, I know!" Raven shouted over the woman's out burst. "I noticed the moon was oddly placed. Does anyone know why?"

A couple of the people shook their heads or shrugged but remained silent.

Raven gave a heavy sigh.

"Well, that crazy witch doctor might know what it means or why its happening.." one of the men said mostly to himself.

"Good idea," Raven replied. "Why don't we go ask her?"

"Are you nuts? She's insane! She'll turn us into insects or something," the man protested.

Raven glared at him and the rest of the people who were nodding in agreement to his statement. Dr. Wakeman wasn't nuts, they were just scared of her because they have never seen her before. Forget these lame cowards, Raven thought, I'll just go ask her myself.

Raven wheeled around and marched across the street over to the Wakeman house. She came up to the door and knocked on it. No answer. Figures, was probably still up in her study trying to fix Jenny. Or prehaps she already noticed the moon's strange position herself. Raven grabbed ahold of the door knob and thrust the door open. The house was still its fimilar, same old self but with a different atmosphere. A lonely and vacant feeling that swept silently through the hall ways and around the rooms. She walked through the halls, turning this way and that and up the stairs. She came to the last door on the right, the door that read out 'Study' on it. She opened the door slowly. It gave of a startling creek that echoed all around the metallic walls of the large room. Next thing she knew, Dr. Wakeman was bounding up and down in front of her in outrage. "What do you think you are doing?! I was in the middle of an important observation and you came just bar- Oh! Raven. So sorry dear, I didn't regconize you at first."

"That's alright, Ms. Wakeman."

Wakeman looked up at her, her beaty eyes staring through her thick, red glasses. "What can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you noticed that the moon was out in brode daylight and if you could tell me what it me-"

"It is no moon." Wakeman replied.

Raven fell silent. The doctor turned and walked back over to her desk, looking down at some papers and analyzing them.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked.

"You see this telescope here.." Wakeman asked, tapping its lends that was next to her. The large telescope extended up to the roof of the room and went up and out, looking directly up into the sky. "This telescope can moniter the speed an object is moving or orbiting in space per second. I have been observing the so called 'moon' for half an hour now... and it has not moved from its spot. It isn't even rotating on its axis."

Raven felt a dry sensation take over her throat. She wanted to swallow it but she couldn't. Somehow, this sounded all unreal. Almost like a comic book or scary movie.

"What are you implying?" Raven asked, her voice unsteady.

The docter remained silent for a moment. But then she turned around and smiled back at Raven. "Oh nothing to worry about, dear. I believe it is something similar to the case we solved last year. You remember, the tiny aliens that camoflased their ships to look like trees? I believe its very similar but to a much larger scale. They have camoflased their motherboard to look like our moon. But they did a terrible job at their disguise, wouldn't you agree? Wahahaha." Wakeman laughed to her little joke. Raven chuckled with her, but did not feel any better.

"Um.. but Mrs. Wakeman.. how will you stop the aliens this time with Jenny still unable to operate?"

Wakeman waved a hand infront of her, keeping her smile on her face.

"It's nothing I can't handle. If the aliens attack before XJ9 is repaired, I'm sure her sisters can make do with the job."

Raven gave a fake smile to Wakeman. Jenny's sisters weren't the town superheros for a reason. They usually made more of a mess than fixing the trouble. "Well... I guess I'll see you around then, Ms. Wakeman," Raven said waving a hand. Wakeman nodded her head and turned back to her desk. Raven walked out of the room and down the stairs. The fimilar house was starting to give of a feeling of hopelessness. Strange, she thought. It has never been so quiet and lonely before.

Raven made it out onto the lawn, when she saw the people still standing in a big group. They were all facing her direction, waiting for her to share the doctors words with them. She gritted her teeth, not wanting to talk to them. But it would be rude to leave them out on the news.

"Well? What did the crazy witch say?" the old woman from before asked.

Raven took in a deep breath. "She said that it was not the moon. It was something that was camoflased as the moon. But she said its nothing to worry about.."

The old woman's eyes enlarged as the corners of her mouth dropped dangerously. "I don't believe that rubbish!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Believe what you want. I'm going home." Raven walked away as the group of people started to talk even louder among themselves. Raven didn't care if they didn't believe her or Wakeman. It was their lost and waste of time to stand out their bickering about nonsense.

Once back into her humble house, Raven plopped herself back onto the couch. The television screen was blank and the light in the room was fading. Raven wanted to believe Dr. Wakeman that it was truly nothing to worry about. But how could she? They hadn't come across something so big. And with out Jenny around to protect them, everything was up in the air for fate's decission. But deep down, Raven knew that it wasn't going to be ok, and something big was about to reveal itself.


	2. I am a prisoner 2

The day had faded out and twilight was burning a brilliant orange on the horizon. The light from the sun was almost gone and the real moon had emerged up into the sky. Raven sat in her lawn looking up with a concearned frown. It was now obvious that it wasn't the real moon because it still remained in the same spot in the sky just next to the real moon. And with the sun's light almost gone, it was dark and hard to see against the twilight sky. It bothered her that she didn't know what exactly it was. It had to be something big to be the size of a moon.

The news wasn't able to tell her anything new about it. Unfortunately, they didn't even know it was a disguise; everyone was convinced that it was a second moon that has appeared in the Earth's gravity pull.

Raven sighed and got up from the grass and went back into her house. She sat down in the same spot on the couch as earlier before, tipping her head back. It wasn't even all that late, but Raven was beginning to feel weary. She slowly closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and thinking about this strange mystery.

"Kssssht... how about this one?"

Raven's eyes fluttered open again. There was a strange voice. Almost unreal and electronic.

"Ksssht.. I'm not sure, how many do we already have?"

Raven tilted her head to the side. It sounded like it was coming through the wall. Must be the neighbors next door, watching a really loud movie.

"We only have two from this country. I guess this one will do."

"Yessir."

Raven began to feel her eye lids slide shut again. Pretty soon, the voices became slurred and meshed together. They couldn't be understood, but the mellow pitch of them lulled her into deep sleep. She was just about to go into a dream, when a smell filled her noise. A strong smell that was so irritating and uncomfortable. It made her feel dizzy. And next she knew, she was out into darkness. No dreams, no nothing.

The floor felt cold on her face. She didn't remember how she ended up on the ground. But her head hurt too much to move or anything. The awful smell from before was still floating around her nose. It was what was making her dizzy. She tried to open her eyes, but closed them shut again. Everything looked twice as bright and was overwhelming for her pounding head. A noise was heard. It sounded like a high pitch beep. She gave a low groan, trying to focus on clearing her head.

"One of them is waking up.."

It was the electronic voices from before. But they were much louder and closer than before. Raven slowly and painfully shift on to her back and tried again to open her eyes.

"Make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

Raven stared up at the ceiling and waited for her vision to clear. It was all fuzzy and still very bright. Her vision became clear and she frowned up at what she saw. The ceiling was made of metal and wires; not the same as the ceiling in her livingroom. Where was she? Raven sat up and looked around. She was in a room completely made out of metal and shiny coating. Her eyes slowly traced the room and stopped suddenly when she noticed the figures in the room next to her. Two tall people in white armor about five feet away stared down at her. At first, they looked like robots, but the way they shifted their weight on each foot revealed them to be human. Raven opened her mouth to ask them a question but stopped herself when she noticed the guns they held in their hands. They weren't your average hand-held pistol, but large rifles held with both hands. A sudden rush of fear shot through her. Was she being held hostige?

They both remained silent and stared down at her. Raven started to quiver in this uncomfortable environment.

"Are you alright, miss?" one of them asked her.

Raven slowly nodded her head, not taking her eyes away. She could not see or read their faces for they were covered by helmets. Their eyes and mouth were dark slits on the masks, giving them an intimidating look. Someone next to her groaned loudly and movement caught the corner of her eye. Raven turned to see three other people laying on the floor, out cold. One of them stood up and looked at her with a confussed expression. It was a boy, prehaps much younger than she. He had redish brown hair and dark eyes. He too looked around and became instantly afraid when he saw the two persons in the white armor with guns. He was trembling. Raven wanted to help him, but she would be no help at all, as she was shaking too. The situtation was still very unclear to her. She had no idea who these people were and why she and these other three people were being held in hostile. The awkward silence returned to the small space and engolfed them all. It was broken once the other two people awoke and one of the men in white armor started to speak, "Citizens from the United States of the planet Earth.."

Something struck Raven that told her something was very wrong. The way they addressed them from their planet; as if they weren't from Earth themselves. This began to make her wonder if they actually were human.

"We are very sorry to be the ones to tell you this. But you will not be returning to your home planet." Raven could hear the boy give a quiet sqeak. He too did not like the sound of this situation.

"In fact, our Lord has ordered that your planet is to be destroyed. You four were choosen from your country to be the only ones to leave before its destruction. I would consider yourselves very lucky."

What the bloodly hell was he going on about? Earth's destruction? But how was that even possible? No weapon has ever been created with such power.

Another beeping noise came from somewhere inside the small space. A voice came from a speaker. This voice was different from the two men, more human and clear.

"The rest of the pods have left the planet's orbit. Start your return back to the port base."

"Yessir," replied one of the men in white armor.

Raven heard the boy next to her give out a small yelp in fright. Raven glanced over at him and saw his face was covered in fear. He was looking out at something behind her. Raven slowly turned her head, afraid of what she was about to see. She gasped as she stared out a large and thick window to her planet. They weren't in a room, but a small space pod that was slowly floating away from Earth's orbit. Out to the left of Earth, much closer to them, she saw the moon. No, the disguised moon. And now that she was so close to it, she could see that it was fake. A large metal handmade station. Huge. On the side of it was a large crater and a hole in the center, which was facing the direction of Earth.

"The beam is ready to fire." the voice said from the speaker.

The hole in the middle of the station's crater began to glow a bright green. The glow began to get larger and larger, as so did Raven's eyes. Her mouth was dropped as her heart beat was dangerously accelerating.

The glow shot out a long and single beam that went hurtling down to Earth. It's glow got brighter and intence. A scream filled Raven's ears. It rang so loud as the beam got bigger and brighter. It took her a while to realize that the scream was coming from her own mouth. As the scream continued, time stood still. Raven's heart stopped beating in a split second.

Earth exploded into a million pieces.


	3. I am a prisoner 3

Raven stumbled down the hall blindly. She felt the tips of the troopers' guns to her back, pushing her onward aggressivly. Her legs would barely carry her as she was handicaped by the black bag that covered her head and the fear swarming inside her chest. All of this just didn't fit. Too much happened for it to possibly be real. How could it be real? It had to be a dream.

Just four minutes ago, Raven witnessed the explosion of her home planet, Earth. And with it, went the lives of everyone she ever cared about. Brad, Tuck, Sheldon, Jenny, Austin.... her eyes were soaked with moisture and burned in agony from the salt. She felt like wailing, she was in so much pain and confusion. But the fear of her surroundings, the fear of the unfimilar environment and the unknown destination kept her silent.

Many times, Raven collided with a hard and cold wall. It was impossible to walk straight. With the black bag over her head, she was with out eyes in the dark. How did they expect her to move so fast? They nagged her on and jabbed her back roughly and impaciently. She always knew from movies that the bad guys put blind folds or bags over someone's eyes so they wouldn't know where they were going. It's what they usually did to prisoners or someone they were about to execute. At first she hoped she was only their prisoner. But now that she thought of it, what was there to lose? Earth was gone. Everyone was gone. Everything Raven loved and known was gone. Death almost sounded comforting.

But she was pretty sure they weren't going to kill her. Before leaving the small space pod, the Troopers seemed to want Raven unharmed. There would be no point in wanting someone unharmed just before their execution. But it did seem strange that they covered their faces; she and the other three people on the space pod before taking them to the next location. Just how big was the main ship?

It seemed to be pretty big. After all Raven had been stumbling down the halls for a good half hour. She was sure that the other three weren't with her anymore. The sounds of the foot falls on the floor were only her own and the hard pounding of the men in the white armor called the Storm Troopers.

Raven kept her head low as she walked aimlessly on. Her head was firing with so many irrational ideas at this point. This endless pushing and fear was tearing her apart. She almost wanted to turn around and run, making the troopers shoot at her and end her life. She did not want to be here any longer and there was no home to return to. Suicide was the only escape root left for option.

Before she could even consider acting on her idea, she was shoved forward harshly, where she stumbled down on her face. She rolled back up on to her knees and remained still, waiting. Listening.

"Sir, the fourth one from the country, United States, is in the cell." said one of the storm troopers.

Another voice came through some kind of radio, but couldn't be understood. A hand touched the back of Raven's head and gripped onto the bag. The bag was ripped off and Raven gave a soft yelp; the hand had pulled a bit of her hair. Raven's vision was slightly blurry since her surroundings had become brighter all of a sudden. She was definatly in some form of a small room for a prisoner. But much more high tech. There was no windows. Just a small part that came out of the wall to sit or lay on. The walls were steel and cold like the rest of the ship and the lighting was from a strange bulb that looked nothing like something from Earth. Remembering her company, Raven turned her head quickly to look behind her. Two storm troopers stood in front of a small door way.

"Please get some rest. Our Lord will be visiting you at some point."

With that, they hit a button on the wall outside of the room and an door slide closed, sealing her in.

Raven remained on the floor, quivering. How could this all have happened. She looked down, her eyes filled with tears. She had never felt so hopeless and so alone before. This feeling of fear was too much to handle. The wail finally was let out. She wailed loudly, bringing her cuffed hands to her face. The wailing lasted for a long time. It was suduced to loud sniffles and then to nothing. Nothing but the earie silence of the small sealed room. Raven now lay on the table that stuck out from the wall, her eyes red and swollen. She still had tears dripping down her face, but her throat hurt too much to make another sound. She breathed heavily and uneasy. What was going to happen to her now? Were they going to torture the remaining people left from Earth? Raven shut her eyes tight, shaking violently and her teeth chattering. How much she wished right now that she would just wake up. Wake up from this awful nightmare. Be back on her couch the next morning and everything back to normal; another peaceful and normal day on Earth.

Breathing. Heavy and thick breathing that sent shivers down Raven's spine. They sounded inclosed. Underneath some kind of mask and machine. Very close. Too close for comfort. Raven flashed open her eyes, when she realized that it wasn't coming from her dream, but next to her. At first she saw nothing but a dark shadow casted down over her cell's open door. When she sat up and peered out at it, she became startled. In the door way stood an extrememly tall figure. Almost twice her height. It repeativly breathed in a raspy and loud gasp of air. The very presence of it made the room full with a sufficating feeling of darkness, swallowing Raven whole. She looked up at the figure, her chest heaved, trying to keep her lungs working. The longer she gazed, the more she could make out human complections. A mask which had large lens for eyes and a triangle shape for the mouth. Hands could be seen at the sides, hiding underneath a long cape and feet that stood heel to heel in rubber boots. All of it coated in a solid black. This person was a giant. And it looked like he was part machine. The way he breathed was electronicly timed. A respirator also was latched on the front of his chest, what she guessed was the cause of the heavy breathing.

Raven almost jumped out of her flesh when he started to walk toward her. Her mind had almost convinced her he was a machine, and his movement was startling. She scrambled to her feet and stood her ground. He stopped in the middle of the room, his presence completely flooding the area.

He seemed to be gazing at her hard and cold under his black mask. Raven waited.

"You are a strong one." His voice was deeper than she imagened. Heavy and thick like his apperanced. Raven shuddered uncomfortably, unsure of what he meant.

"What is your name?" He asked.

Raven opened her mouth to reply to him, but could not find her words. Only the sound of air escaped her lips. The tall man, lowered his head slightly, waiting for an answer. Her air got tighter.

"R-Rave-n." she croaked.

The man remained silent, staring her down. He made her feel so small and helpless as he towered over her.

"Curious.." He said. His tone had changed now. It loosened the air around her, making it easier to breathe.

She found her words now. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?" she asked in a high pitch voice. She could feel her face reflecting much pain and worry and she was aware of how vulnerable her emotions were making her. But she didn't care... she had to know.

The man did not reply.

"Where am I? Where have you taken me?"

"You are on the Death Star." he replied. It almost scared her how his tone had changed to a comferting pitch. He still frightened her but she could see he was trying not to intimidate anymore.

Death Star... was that the moon shaped station?

Raven stared at the floor for a minute, thinking harder. She had many questions to ask. So many that were stuff up in her head. But all she could think to ask him was: "Who are you?"

The man lowered his head again, absorbing her question. "I am the Lord of this fleet. My name is Darth Vader."

Raven shuddered again. How much darker could this guy get? Raven looked back up to his masked face. She tried to imagen what he looked like behind the mask. Surely some kind of demon or dark monster to fit such a name.

"Why am I here?" She asked. She had wondered it for a while.

"You are here for an important task. A test, if you will. You along with others from different parts of your planet."

"But why? Why me?" Raven asked, almost pleading.

He chuckled softly. Raven's eyesbrows raised, unexpecting that. Did he find her confusion and pain amusing?

"There is no reason. You were randomly picked." He paused, staring down at her hard. "It would have been a shame if you were not chosen. Such a waste." He said deeply.

Just then, he lifted his head and looked behind him. He then fully turned around and walked out, his cape flipping in curves behind him. The door closed shut tight behind him.

A feeling. This weird and misplaced feeling stirred in side her chest. She shook her head, unable to understand it. All it was, was added confusion to this mess. And ignoring it was hard. This feeling was burried deep under her mixed emotions and wanted to come out. But could not break free from the tangled webs of pain, sadness and loneliness.

That man, Darth Vader. He was something else. So strange, intimidating, and different. He struck fear in her the instant he approuched. He was like a mysterious cloud that lingered in the world. Raven smiled helplessly as she laid back down on the table and started to cry. She couldn't help but notice that she could relate to that. Being a fearful and strange figure that wandered among the normal. But her idea of normal would be lost forever. And all the strange and dark things around her would soon be the new normal. She would eventually have to get use to it.


	4. I am a prisoner 4

"Hey, wake up."

She tried very hard to ignore the voice in her ear. But it wouldn't leave her alone.

"I have brought you dinner. Please, wake up!"

Raven slowly opened her eyes, to see just the wall of her cell. She turned over onto her back and stared up into the face of one of the storm troopers. His white amrored mask was so close to her face, it made her gasp in fright.

"Here, take your food." He said, impaciently.

Raven sat up on the table and took a bowl from him which he had been holding out to her. She looked into it. It was a strange, soupy mush. The smell was unusual, but not displeasing. Raven looked up to him.

"Thanks..." She said in a weak voice.

"Eat up, you'll need it for your test." The trooper said. He then turned to exit out of the cell and occompany another gaurd. Raven's eyes flashed wide. That's right, the man called Darth Vader had said something about a test.

"Wait!" Raven shouted after him.

The trooper stopped and turned to look back at her.

"What test? When is it?"

The trooper did not reply. He turned to the other who was standing outside of the cell. Once the other one nodded an aproval, he turned back to Raven. "A skill test. It will start in ten minutes. We will be back for you around then to take you to your testing site."

Raven stared after him as he went through the exit and sealed the door shut behind him. What would the test be like, she wondered. Surely something unique, at least for someone from Earth. She lowered the soup meal into her lap, frowning. The strange feeling had returned. It was so confusing and frustrating. She wanted to grasp it so she could understand what it meant, but it kept slipping away through her fingers; like water in a dish. The vision of Darth Vader, wipping his cape in a formal fashion away from her was replaying over and over in her mind. Raven squinted at the wall in front of her, as if it would help her clearify what it meant. But it didn't.

Raven took her gaze away into nothing and looked down at the bowl of mush she was given. It looked much like the experiment she, Jenny, Brad and Sheldon made one day in the Tribbleton High Cafeteria. They had taken the apple sauce, the milk and the sour doe bread and smashed it together to make some sick, goopy meal. Though, what would be the harm? It would all get mixed up together eventually in your stomach. And if she was going to have this test in ten minutes, she would need the energy. She lifted the bowl to her face, sniffing it. The smell was so strange and unknown. But she was thankful it didn't smell revolting. She stuck two of her fingers into it and gave it a poke. It jiggled under her finger's press in an odd way. Well, here goes the plung. She put her lips to the edge of the bowl and tipped it back, taking in a small drink. She smacked her lips together, tasting it thoroughly. It didn't taste bad. Actually, it didn't taste much like anything. It was very bland and flavorless. But it had the texture of oatmeal. She decided to eat it up fast, before she let her mind decide that she found it disguisting. She drank it down fast and hic-upped. With such a flavorless meal, she didn't understand how it was suppose to give her energy.

She placed her bowl gently down next to her and lifted her head all the way up to the ceiling. A sigh escaped her mouth, and she tapped her fingers on the table gently. A tune sparked. Of all times, she got a happy tune in her head. The tune of one of her favorite songs, Jumping All Over the World. It was one of Scooter's best songs and the most cheery to dance to.

She smiled to herself. At times like these, music never let her down.

The tune soaked in so much, she couldn't help but softly sing the lyrics.

"I got the money... I got the place... you got the figure... you got the face."

Her feet started to move to a beat. Her head bobbed up and down.

"Let's get together... we're jumping all over, all over the world.."

She closed her eyes and her imagenation was set free. Lights were all over the wall. Bright colors of blue, green, pink, purple, and orange. The lights were dancing all over the place in a orderly fashion. She could hear Scooter's deep voice booming and echoing all around her:

"Let me hear ya!"

A sea of voices flooded in. "JUMPING ALL OVER THE WORLD!"

Next thing she knew, Raven was up on her feet, and dancing. Her body shook with the beat and her hands flew up in the air.

The lyrics boomed in the small metalic cell. She got on her hands and swung her legs around and around in a circle up in the air. Back flips and front flips. Twirls in the air and the pounding of her feet against the floor.

"I got the music, I got the life! You got the figure, food of your life! Let's get together, and jump all over, all over the world!"

Scooter: "TOGETHA!"

Crowd: "JUMPING ALL OVER THE WORLD!!"

"I got the vision, I got the name! You got the power, to drive me insane! Let's get together, let's jump all over, all over the world!"

Raven was jumping up and down, and spinning all over the floor. The music had completely taken her control. What she liked best about being helpless to its power was the fact, that she became much more aware of her surrounds. She was usually a clutsy person who bumped into things a whole lot. But when dancing, it was like her dexterity shot up 25% or something. She was able to keep a full rythmn and dance, while avoiding the table and walls of her cell perfectly. She didn't even really need to think about it. It was more like the music and her body guided her to keep clear of harm and perfect harmony to the dance.

The only thing she didn't become aware of is she had gained an audience. She got a white glimspe in the corner of her eye, which made her turn her head to look. The door to the cell was open again and the storm troopers stood just out side it, watching her awkwardly in silence. Raven instantly stopped and got to her feet, her faced flushed. It must have looked really strange to come in and see her dancing to no actual music.

"Come along. We don't have all day." One of the troopers said, breaking the uneasy situation.

Raven quickly stumbled over to them and stood in between their bodies, waiting instinctively to put a bag over her face like they had before. But they didn't. The Storm Trooper closest to the door hit a button and the cell closed. "This way." He said and started to walk down the hall. Raven followed him, having trouble keeping up with him. The troopers were very tall and had long strides, while she walked swiftly on her short and tiny legs. Without the bag on her face, she was able to look around and gasp at the wonders of the ship. Each hallway was setup in different mechanical structures that she couldn't recgonize. But they still amazed her all the same. They came to the first window. A rather large one, at that. When they past it, Raven was able to see many troopers lined up and marching down towards some sort of space craft. The room was huge and leveled below them. The next window she past showed another hallway. She was able to see some people walking through it, who were, she guessed, not storm troopers. They didn't wear the white armor as the other ones did. They had dark green and black uniforms, much like the American army men, and strange shaped hats that lached together under their chins. Each of them had such solum or tense look on their faces. It made Raven curious. Was everyone here so stressed looking? She wasn't sure, she couldn't read the face expressions of the troopers with their helmets on. They walked down the hall for quite awhile until they came to a door. It opened automatically as they approuched it. The next room was revealed as part of the control section of the station. It was the most beautiful thing Raven had every seen. The generators of all kinds snaked their way around eachother and the wires looped up the walls and through the air to the ceiling. A bridge extended out infront of them to another door. Once Raven took a foot step onto the bridge, she was able to see just how far the drop was from the bridge. It was hard to estimate, but it looked like much greater than suicide height. As they crossed the bridge Raven could hear the humming of the machines all around her. They were a smooth and unfimilar hum. She closed her eyes, listening to it as she strode across the brigde. She was so curious to know which control did what to each generator and which generator was the power control for what part of the station. Sounded like a dream land to be able to investigate each one through this entier port. To take apart each one, and put it back together.

She was snapped back when she collided with the back of the trooper infront of her. She barely budged him, but she took uneasy steps away, embarassed once again. He had stopped infront of the door at the end of the bridge. It did not open automatically like the first one. A code box next to the door had a speaker on it and a voice came out of it like a robot. "What is your access destination for this area?"

"Escorting one of the people from the section United States from the planet Earth."

There was a pause. "What is the person's destination?" It asked.

"To the Lord's testing site."

Raven shuddered a little. She was strating to get nervous. She feared that this test would be somewhat painful or dangerous. She also worried if it involved fighting other humans like herself. It was the last thing she wanted. To be involved in a small war against the last of her people from her planet.

The door slid open and the Trooper infront of her continued to walk on straight. Raven took this as her premission to keep going too. She stayed closely behind the trooper and alert.

The hall turned into a narrow passage and she could see another door at the end of the hall. As it drew nearer, the feeling from before began to stir from inside. Raven gritted her teeth tightly. Of all times, it had to come back now? But she couldn't stay angry about it for very long. This feeling helped her stay calm. It almost gave her a slightly happy feeling inside. Almost like the time when she first saw Michael.

The Trooper stopped infront of the door and this time, Raven was ready and stopped just behind him. He flipped open a box control next to the door and started typing in random numbers on a number pad.

Raven shifted her gaze over her shoulder to see the other Trooper behind her. He was carrying a gun, unlike the one in front. When he noticed she was starring at him, he turned his head directly in her direction. This made Raven softly gasp and turn her head back quickly to the door. She closed her eyes for a minute, focusing on the confusing emotion she still couldn't understand. It helped her heart rate stay steady. She heard a click noise, and she flashed her eyelids open. The door was now open, but the Trooper did not move. Raven swallowed hard.

"Bring her in." A deep voiced echoed.

Raven's heart skipped a beat. There was no mistaking it. It was that man, Darth Vader.

The troopers pushed Raven into a circular room, filled with several people. She did not see Vader at first, but then realized he was hiding in the corner within the shadows. It was hard for him to stay hidden from his deep and loud raspy breathing. Raven couldn't help but turn her head to look around at the people in the room. From all she could see, there were the three others from before in the space pod. And four others that stood behind them. They were dark skinned and each had dark hair. They could possibly be from Latin America.

"Stand over here." Vader said deeply, gesturing to the row of the other United States citizens in front. Raven's jaw locked and became tense as she quickly walked over and stood next to the girl from Raven was in place, the storm troopers bowed to Vader and made a swift exit out the door. Now turned facing the other way, Raven saw a robot standing in front of them. It looked just like a person, with limbs, feet, arms, a torso and a head. It even had two eyes and a slit for a mouth. But no jaw line to allow its mouth to open and close. Vader nodded his head to the golden robot and it began to speak in a feminine voice:

"Hello, humans of United States and Mexico." The robot paused. "Hola, hombre de Estados Unidos y Mexico."

Raven was surprised. The robot was actually able to speak spanish. It continued. "Today you will be taking a test to see if you have a special gift. This gift is if whether or not you are in tune with the Force. Hoy en día se le toma una prueba para ver si usted tiene un don especial. Este regalo es si o no usted está en sintonía con la Fuerza. "

Raven's eyebrows came together with puzzlement. She had no idea what this Force the robot was talking about.

"You will be given a weapon to defend yourself against a droid's laser. If you are well enough in tune to the Force, you will be able to block most of the laser's fire. Se le dará un arma para defenderse de un robot de láser. Si está lo suficientemente bien en sintonía con la Fuerza, usted será capaz de bloquear la mayoría de los láser de fuego. Do not worry, the lasers will only sting, they will not harm you in any way. No te preocupes, el láser sólo aguijón, que no le hace daño de ninguna manera. The test will be over once you have blocked all of the droid's lasers or when your legs give out on you from too many shots. La prueba será de más de una vez que han bloqueado todos los láseres de robot o cuando las piernas le dan en muchos de los disparos. You will be judged by a lieutenant. But one of you will be judged by Lord Vader himself. Va a ser juzgado por un teniente. Pero uno de ustedes será juzgado por el mismo Lord Vader."

The robot finished and gave a short bow. It then shuffled out of the way on its stiff jointed legs.

With the robot's voice gone, she came in tune of the deep breathing from behind her. She and the rest of the seven heads turned to look at Vader. The girl next Raven was trembling violently and made a soft cueing noise, expressing her fear. Raven took a deep breath, excepting the fact that she was scared too; she was sure everyone was.

A door opened and a man dressed in a soldier's uniform came in from across the room. Everyone's gaze quickly shifted to him as he stood in front of the crowd of people. Judging by his uniform, he looked high ranked in his class.

"Alright, seven of you will come with me to other rooms so you can be judged. One of you will stay here to be judged by Lord Vader."

The girl next to Raven gave out another noise. Raven tried to ignore her.

The man in the uniform turned to Vader, his expression changing to a respectful gaze. "My Lord, which one of them do you wish to judge?"

All of the people in the room, turned to look at Darth Vader at the same time, perfectly timed, like robots. Raven felt a heavy feeling lodged tight in her throat. She could feel her back and neck start to sweat nervously. And the feeling of confusing and conflicting emotions was firing across her brain. It tickled each nerve point in her body and made it numb. She had to squint her eyes tightly to prevent her vision from going blurry. Now it was unbarable. She didn't mind it when it was comforting at first, but it had gotten to the point of being a very bad distraction.

Darth Vader stood among them silently, only his breathing could be heard in the room. He seemed to be staring deep into each of them, searching for something. The silent reply was killing them though. The intense impacience could be felt by everyone in the room and continued to build; waiting. Finally, he lowered his head, looking straight at Raven.

Her heart slammed heavily in her rib cage. She could feel her eyes grow large and her face flush. Never before, had she felt so shy and scared. She never expected it to be conflicted with the confusing emotion hanging above her head.

"I will judge this one." He said deeply, pointing at her in a mere gesture.

Raven closed her eyes and bit her lip hard. "As you wish." she heard the man behind her reply. She turned back to him just to see him look down among them all. His eyebrows came close together seriously and said, "The rest of you follow me. I will take you to your own room to be judged."

The man swiftly turned around and strode to the door from wince he came. The rest of the seven quickly attempted to follow, each single file. Once they all left the room, the door closed and the atmosphere instantly became heavy and uncomfortable. Raven could hear herself breathing hard and nervously, almost as loud as Vader's. She slowly turned back to look at him, her teeth worrying her lower lip.

Vader was gazing down at her, standing at least three feet taller. He relaxed his stance as he stared through her. "Why are you so tense?" he asked. Though, how he asked this, it sounded like he already knew.

Raven shook her head hastily. "I'm... not sure."

Vader breathed in deeply on her answer. "Are you sure you don't know?"

It was definately clear that he knew. Raven's eyes became normal and her eyebrows lowered. How was it that he knew of this strange feeling and understood it and she did not? Her head slightly cocked unevenly on one side. Her teeth had let go of her lower lip now.

"Search yourself." he said simply.

Raven shifted her gaze to the floor. She didn't really understand what he meant. But she was trying to understand it. She had been for the past hours trying to think what could possibly be triggering this feeling. It couldn't be her environment. It intimidated her too much for the feeling to be comforting. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"I still don't understand..." Raven said quietly.

Vader breathed deeply. "I didn't expect you to.."

Raven looked up at him timidly. She was almost expecting to be struck with something, but nothing happened, and the aura of the room was relaxed.

"Nevermind it. Let's begin your test." Darth Vader said. He pulled a hand out from under his cape and grabbed something that was attached to his belt. He held it out to Raven. The shape of this object looked very fimilar to her. She walked up to him and reached for it. Once her hand clasped around it, there was a spark of connection. This strange pulse she felt that came from Darth Vader. It was sudden and painful, yet very pleasing. But the sudden surprised caused Raven to jerk her hand away quickly. She shot a frightened look up at him, to make sure this gesture wouldn't get her in trouble. But Vader did not reply in any way. He only continued to stare down at her. Some how, she knew he felt that connection too. Things were getting a little too strange for comfort.

Raven tightened her fist and remembered she was still holding the object. She took her gaze away from Vader and looked at it in her tight hand. The shape of it was much like the handle of a sword, but not as old fashion. Raven studied its shape and scale a minute. This was definately fimiliar.

There was what looked liked two buttons on the side of it. One was large and the other was more of a motion senser near the butt of the handle. Her eyes widened.

Vader's voice came up, "This is a weapon called a lightsaber. It is an old fashion weapon used by Jedi warriors. Activating it is your first test. Now, hit the-"

Before he could finish, Raven had pressed the larger button on the handle. A brilliant ray of blue came shooting out the top end of the handle. It looked just like a sword; a neon sword. Raven's eyebrows raised.

"It's... it's just like my giant glow stick..." She said, more to herself.

Vader fell silent.

Raven felt so surprised. A sword she held in her hands that looked just like her idea for a giant glowstick. And just like her original plans, it had some sort of plasma or acid in it to make it glow. And because it was dangerous, it was a weapon.

Raven stared deeply at the beautiful shade of blue that emitted from the blade and listened to its hum. She gave it a little bit of a wave and it hummed loudly in response. Raven couldn't help but give a wide smile.

"Well, you pasted that part easily."

Raven looked up quickly, forgetting that Darth Vader was standing next to her. She flushed, feeling bad for ignoring him. "Sorry... that was a test? I didn't see any complication in simply activiating this weapon, sir."

Vader gave a deep inhalue before answering, "It did seem easy. But you need a certain power of connection and control to be able to make the blade of a lightsaber extended. You have a small connection to the Force. And it allowed you to easily control that lightsaber."

Raven frowned. "I'm very sorry, but... What is the 'Force'?"

Vader clenched his fist and fell silent again. Raven felt a bad vibe flow into the atmosphere. She felt her heart beat fast. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to insult or disappoint you, Lord Vader." she studdered, lowering her head.

With her head so low and her dark hair in her face, she could only see his feet. She hoped he wasn't angry. But just then, she heard him chuckle.

She looked up, a bit emberessed.

"No, you didn't. Explaining the Force has never been an easy task for me."

He paused to take a few inhales. Raven waited paicently.

"The Force..." Vader gave a heavy sigh," It's a mystical energy field that surrounds the living. It connects the minds of people and keeps the galaxy from falling apart. The Force is always there, surrounding you and giving you your physical form. But to be in tune with the Force is a little bit more."

Raven thought about his words. It sounded like what she believed to be auras. But never did she think it was one whole thing.

"If the Force surrounds the living.. how come you feel a different feeling around different people? If its all one thing, wouldn't it make the presence of someone the same as the rest?" Raven asked.

"Not exactly... indeed, it is all one thing, but there are different sides to the Force. How much you are in tune to the force and which side you are surrounded by determinds the person's presence." Darth Vader replied.

Raven lowered her head and chewed on her lower lip a bit. So he must be in tone with a bad side, Raven thought. His presence leeked gallons of thick, black auras that drowned her thoughts. Usually if someone had a bad aura to them, you could simply ignore it once you were use to it, but his; much too heavy to just ignore. Raven shifted her gaze back up to his face on the helmet. "So what is the difference of being well in tune to the Force?" she asked, in a softer voice than she was intending.

Vader nodded slowly and continued to share his knowledge. "The more strength one has in the Force, the more a person has certain powers. The Force helps one to vividly imagine controling something mentally and causing it to happen physically." When he noticed Raven's frown of confusion he said, " Put the lightsaber on the ground, I will show you what I mean."

Raven did as she was told, placing it gently on the ground in front of her and stepping back a few inches. Vader lifted one of his hands, and extended it out to the lightsaber. His palm became out stretched and began to quiver a bit. Then, the lightsaber started to shake violently. Raven's eyes widened as she stared dumbfoundedly. The lightsaber stopped shaking and floated up into the air, flying over to Vader's open hand. Once the handle came close enough, he clenched his fingers around it and held it up. Raven's eyes became so big. It was just like magic.

Vader seemed to be smiling pridefully under his mask as he turned back to Raven. "That is one example of using the Force. Moving objects with your mind. Other things are having influences over the weak minded, tricking them to agree or believe something."

Raven's eye brows raised. She could see that as a very handy trick.

"But the most powerful use of the Force is simply using it as your weapon." Vader began to walk slowly toward Raven, his tall dark appearance looming over her in a giant shadow. Raven's throat went dry.

"I don't think you know how easily I could kill you right now."

A nervous feeling started thrashing about in the pit of her stomach. Fear was eating at her limbs, and she could not move back any more.

"I wouldn't have to even lay a finger on you to do it."

He was starting to get too close for comfort. His aura was darkening even further, and sealing the room.

"All I have to do is imagine my hand around your throat, cutting of your airway."

He raised his hand quickly. Raven flinched, putting her own hand around her throat, as if that would help. He was definately smiling under his mask now.

"It wouldn't take very long, but the suffering will feel longer." He was now a foot away from her, towering her over. Raven stood frozen to the spot, her head arched all the way back to look him in the face. Her face had gone pale of fear and the fact that he was so close to her.

"I can see you shaking," Darth Vader said deeply.

Indeed, she was shaking. Trembling, at that. She was so scared. At first, she didn't believe he would actually think to kill her. But the sudden change in his aura and the terrible feeling that was pulling at her chest was telling her different. She wasn't sure if he would, and that was what scared her.

Darth Vader gave an amused chuckle under his mask. He lowered his hand a bit to where it was just next to Raven's face. Blood flow was rushing through her, making her light headed and dizzy. The feeling, at this point was now stabbing her repeativly in the chest. Her breathing had become raspy and uneven.

"Hmm.." Vader mummbled quietly. His gloved-fingers barely brushed past Raven's face and set chills up her entire body.

She was very scared now. She wasn't sure what he was doing. For all she knew, this Force could allow him to kill her with just one touch.

She felt her feet guide her back a step to a more safe range. Raven kept watching Vader's mask, and was sure that a smile on his face had just faded then. A terrible silence followed it.

As if breaking from a distraction, Vader looked down and his voice changed back to normal and deep, as if none of that just happened. "Let's begin your next stage in the test..."

The atmosphere was breathable again and the tension released her. Raven sighed deeply to herself and nodded.

Darth Vader turned his head to the right and gestured to something to come closer. Raven turned to see another robot wheeling in slowly. It had no humanoid features like the first one did, and it moved on a three wheel set. It had multiple arms, at least 10 that she could identify and count.

The robot whistled and beeped as it stopped a few feet away from them.

Raven turned back to Vader, expecting him to say something now. Which he did. "This droid is capable of shooting a laser at 50 different angles. What I want you to do is use this lightsaber to repel the lasers."

Raven blinked at him. It didn't make much sense.. if the lightsaber was made of a form of fused plamsa as what it looked to be, how would it reflect a laser? Maybe there was more to this lightsaber than she thought. Or prehaps not the lightsaber but this Force. She swallowed uneasily again.

"You now know that you have the Force surrounding you. And being able to past the last test, you also know the Force is in tune to you as well. If you are strong with the Force, you will be able to use it to sense when and where the laser will be firing at you, and reflect it with your lightsaber."

Raven only half understood. She knew what to do, but how to do it was a different story. "But, how do I use it?" She asked.

"Listen. Feel. It's there, you just have to find it. Once you do, listen and feel it. It will make since there on."

Raven cocked her head slightly, frustrated that she didn't understand what he was talking about. She hit the button on the lightsaber, and it extended out to its beautiful glowing blue. The robot, seeing an act of challenge, extended its arms and revealed to be holding ten guns. It beeped threatenly and began to move back and forth. Raven held the lightsaber infront of her face, at the ready.


	5. The Warrior 1

The robot with the multiple arms stood infront of Raven, armed. Though, the fact it was merely a machine, it was hard to tell when it was going to attack. But Raven waited paicently for it to make the first move.

The first laser came shooting out of the top right hand. Raven dodged it but failed to reflect it with the lightsaber. The second laser shot and again, avoided but no reflect. Raven felt frustrated. The lightsaber was such a small and thin stick-like shape, it was hard to hit the laser. Just like baseball, but more difficult.

"Let go." Darth Vader said deeply.

Raven didn't look away from her threat, but continued to listen. "Your trusting your instincts and senses too much. Loose up on them and listen to the Force." He instructed.

Raven frowned. She did not understand how exactly to listen to the Force. What was she suppose to be listening for? A voice? A sound?

Thinking about this too much made her too distracted, and the next shot hit her square in the knee.

"Aw!" Raven yelped. The sting of the laser made all her nerves in her caff fire madly. It was a harsh and irry feeling that she never felt before. And it stung so bad. But she had to ignore it, she couldn't allow herself to get distracted again.

"Your thinking too hard. Release your thoughts and let go of your senses." Vader said slowly. His deep voice sooth Raven's pain in her knee. She tried her best to obey. She let her mind forget about trying to understand the Force. Forget about the robot in front of her. Her whole body became lose and relaxed.

A small light could be seen in her mind. It was a strange glowing light. Trying to describe its color and pattern was nearly impossible. But it seemed to glide gracefully all around her. Like a dove in a soft, cloudy sky. It hoved next to her just infront of her left sholder. She reached with two hands awkwardly to grab it, but suddenly her mind came back. She was back in the test room. The robot was facing her and fired another laser. She didn't have time to react to it. But she didn't have to. From how her hands were positioned to catch the floating light, allowed her to angle the lightsaber and reflect the laser straight back to the robot. The laser came hurtling back and struck it in a joint of the fore arm, disabling one of its guns. The robot beeped loudly with surprise and shock

Raven's eye brows raised. Was that the force right then? The irresitable light that helped her predict where the laser would be.

Raven could hear Vader breathing proudly behind her and a smile creeped up her face. Now she was sure she was starting to catch on. But the challenge now was how to be able to relax and see the light again.

She let go of her thoughts and relaxed her body again.

Once again the light appeared and it was hovering near the caff of her right leg. She quickly reached for it. Her mind came back and another laser ricochet off her lightsaber and struck the robot again.

Raven's grin just got wider.

"Very good. I think you understand it now." Vader said, an impressed tone in his voice.

Raven's grin was now ear to ear as the light guided her strokes. But the next one appeared three strides in front of her. "Strike me!" It yelled. "Strike me with all your strength!" Raven hesitated at first. But then she quickly rushed over to it and raised the lightsaber above her head. The light was gone and the robot was in its place. She had no time to think twice.

The lightsaber came down on the robot evenly.

Raven froze, her weapon lodged in at the bottom of the robot's middle. It gave several crackles and snaps. The robot weakly beeped as electricity sparked over the huge cut. Raven took the lightsaber out of the robot and stepped back. The robot split in two and fell apart on the ground.

Raven breathed harshly, wide eyed at her last preformance. She didn't think she had such strength.

"Very good." she heard from behind.

Raven turned her head to Darth Vader who was nodding approvingly.

"You passed the test. You listened well to the force and succeeded." He said deeply.

Raven smiled up at him. She pressed the button on the lightsaber and the glowing blade disappeared into the handle.

"As your reward, you may keep that lightsaber." Vader said.

Raven looked bewildered. "Really?"

Vader nodded his head slowly.

Raven looked down at the lightsaber handle in her hand, still grinning. It was a smile that a child makes when someone gives them candy or a new toy.

"Do you wish to change the color of the blade?"

Raven turned her attention back to Vader, her eyebrows raised. "You can do that?"

"Of course. Its best to choice a color that fits the user. Helps the user bond more with their weapon. Do you wish to keep your lightsaber blue or would you like to change it?" Vader asked again.

Raven took her attention once again on her new lightsaber. The glowing blue was a beautiful color. It almost matched the electric blue streaks in her hair. But of course, was blue really her color? She smiled to herself, and looked back up to Vader. "How about purple?"

Vader chuckled. "Yes, it can be changed to purple. I will send down two mechanics to your new room to change it for you."

"New room?" Raven asked.

"You are no longer a prisoner. You have proven to me to be a talented jedi. And no jedi on this star base will be held in a prison therefor, you will given your own room in the station that you can live in. You will be given training to increase your skills like the rest of the new Jedi. Soon, you may be strong enough to serve just below my league."

This day just kept getting better. A new room, which she was sure was better than the prison chamber, and a new weapon designed much like a giant glowstick.

Vader turned to the corner of the room and hit an intercome on the side of the wall. "Send in a droid." He said into the mic.

A couple of seconds later, a robot similar to the one that gave the announcement came shuffling in on stiff legs. It came just infront of its Lord and bowed slightly. Raven found it amusing how stiff-jointed it was.

"Take this girl to one of the empty rooms in the 66th section of the station. Make sure all her needs are fulfilled before leaving her." Vader instructed.

The robot nodded its head just barely. "Oh yes, of course, Lord Vader."

The robot turned and shuffled its way over to Raven. "Please, young lady, follow me." The robot began to head out the door from wince it came. Raven began to follow it but looked back to Vader. The feeling from before was still there, stirring heavily, but still hidden.

"I will check on you tomorrow and see if you are satisfied with your room." He told her.

Raven nodded to him. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, she thought. She managed a "Thank you" just before she left.

She turned back and followed the robot out the door.


	6. The Warrior 2

The sign above read, "Area D, section 66."

How ironic, Raven thought. The number 66 was her universal number and seemed to appear to her on a daily bases.

The robot lead her down a hall which was full of nothing but doors to what she guessed were multiple rooms. The hallway seemed to go on forever. But the robot finally stopped in front of one.

'Room 91.'

Looked just the same as the rest of them.

The robot turned around to face Raven. "Here is your room, miss."

Raven smiled at the robot. The robot awkwardly looked at her and back at the door. "Um... just walk up to the door. It will open automatically." It said.

Raven blushed a little, embarrased of her lack of knowledge. But she couldn't beat herself up too much, she'd only been here for less than a day.

She walked up to the door and, sure enough, the door slide open with ease. She walked into the room and looked around.

The room had a small double bed, a desk, and a table. There was plenty of standing space, which she guessed would be for training in the mere future. She saw a box on the floor which had been shoved aside and out of the way. Raven frowned and pointed at it, "What's that?"

The robot replied quickly. "Oh, I believe that is your luggage from your original location."

Raven looked up at it and with a greatly confused expression. "What do you mean?"

The robot shook its head, trying to think of another way to explain it. "The box contains objects that belong to you from your old home."

Raven's eyes went wide. She got down on her knees quickly and began to open the box. Inside she found, her old sketch book, one of her photo albums, five of her old CDs, and three of her old T-shirts. Raven could feel a tear of happiness come to her. She took everything out and held it close. How was it possible? How did they know that these things were her most presious possesions?

"We also brought up some clothes for you to wear. They are in your drobe over there." The robot motioned to the corner of the room.

Raven looked up and and saw a high tech wordrobe she had not noticed at first. Raven looked up at the robot and smiled. "Thank you so much."

The robot stiffly nodded to her, "Oh, your very welcome, its my pleasure."

Raven stood up, leaving her things on the floor for now.

"If you ever need me or another service robot, just click this button on your message pad." The robot pointed at a large button on a pad next to the door. "You can message one of the robots to take you down to the food cort to eat, when ever you get hungry or thirsty."

She nodded slowly to the robot. "Ok."

"Is there anything else you will need?" The robot asked, politly.

Raven shook her head. "No, thank you. I'll be fine."

The robot bowed again and turned to shuffle its way out the room. When the door closed behind it, Raven sighed and collapse to the floor on her butt. She picked up the photo album and opened it. It was the photo book that had the pics of her trip to London, Paris, and all over Ireland. She browsed through them, smiling to the memories they brought. She looked at the photo of her and her mom. Her mom held her in her arms and was smiling so warmly to the camera. Raven's heart gave a painful thump. She missed her mom so much. She wished that she had made sure Psycho was stable enough to leave him. But he wasn't, and now her mom was gone. Maybe if she had been more cautious of his state of mind, her mom would still be here. No... she wouldn't. Earth was gone. Along with everyone she ever knew.

Raven sighed deeply and closed the photo album. She picked up her sketch book and placed both of them over on the desk. She came back over to the CDs and t-shirts, picking them up. She looked at which CDs they had saved her. Gorillaz Album, Coldplay's A Rush Of Blood To The Head, The Best of Bjork, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Scooter's Jumping All Over The World. Raven grinned. What a good selection. Pretty much all her favorites. But she then began to wonder, how would she play them? She had no CD player, and she was sure this place was too high tech for one. She placed the CDs down on the desk next to her books and lightsaber across the room and then walked over to her wordrobe. She looked at if for a second trying to figure out how to open it. She then saw a small pad on the side of it. She pressed it and the door slide open. Inside, were four other tops and three bottoms. There were also some high top, brown leather boots. She picked them up, observing them. They looked very classy and nice. They would probably be the nicest shoes she'd ever own. The tops were all plain blue slim fit long sleeves, except one. It was a white and brown tunic with a black belt attached to it. One of the pair of bottoms matched it as white leggings.

Raven sort of frowned at her clothes selection, which wouldn't be her first pick. She looked down at the three T-shirts she had. One was a black one with a british flag design on it. Another was her custom designed blue shirt with the ying yang heart on it. The last one made her grin widely. It was one of her Gorillaz T-shirts. How lucky she was.

She placed her three T-shirts onto the other folded tops in the wordrobe. She then slipped her purple converse shoes off and put them next to the leather brown boots. She closed the wordrobe and began to unzip her purple hoodie. She tossed it onto the bed and sat down. The bed was averagely comfortable and the sheets were smooth and soft. There was only one pillow on it, considering it was a double bed.

Raven tipped her head up and looked at the ceiling. The light that was casted down on her and glowed a strange white color that had a hint of green to it. It looked beautiful. Much more unique than the lighting back home.

As she looked at the light longer, she heard the door to the room slide open. She quickly looked back down and saw two men in formal suits walk in. They didn't wear helmets like the storm troopers nore did they wear the strange shaped hats as the other men she saw in the hallways.

"Hello, we were requested down here to change the color of your lightsaber." One of them replied. It almost sounded like a question the way he said it.

Raven nodded her head and jumped to her feet. "Oh yeah." She walked over to her desk and grabbed her lightsaber. "Here." She handed it to him.

He took it and held out his hand to the man standing behind him. The man, grabbed some sort of tool off his belt and gave it to his collige. He took the tool and turned it on the butt of the handle several times. Then he took two free fingers and twisted it. He pulled out a center piece which looked like a small casket. In side it, fit snug and secure was a glowing crystal, surounded by a blue liquid. Raven stared bewildered at its beauty. She was right about the chemicals being use, but she never expected a crystal to be giving it such a beautiful glow. The other man took the cascit and put it inside a case he pulled from his belt. Then he took another case and took out another cascit. This one had a different shaped crystal and a liquid that glowed purple. Raven couldn't help but smile at it. It was such a beautiful color and one of her favorite shades of purple.

He handed it the man with her lightsaber, who carefully slid it back into the rear of the lightsaber handle. He gave it a twist and used his tool again to tighten it. The man looked up from the weapon and smiled, handing it back to Raven. Raven bowed her head to him. "Thank you very much."

"Any time. You let one of the droids know if you want to get it changed again and we'll be back."

"Ok, I will. Oh, what are your names?" Raven asked.

He smiled a warming smile. "My name is Casco. And this is Tarid." he said gesturing to the guy behind him who smiled a hello to her.

Such strange names she thought. But then again, it was like a complete different world.

"What is your name, young miss?" Casco asked.

"Raven." she replied.

"Well its good to have you aboard the Death Star. I hope you enjoy your stay." he said.

Raven nodded to him, still smiling and he and Tarid walked out of her room.

Once they were gone Raven looked down at her lightsaber. She hit the button on it and the blade extended. It glowed its royal neon purple and hummed a different tune then before. She waved it around, listening to its humming. It was perfect. Vader was right, with the weapon a color she liked, she could feel a strong bond to it.

Just then, the feeling returned. Raven could feel her smile fade to a frustrated frown. She was getting tired of this feeling coming back to her, since she didn't understand it. But this time, she had the Force. Maybe she could use it to tell her what it meant. Raven sealed her lightsaber back up and stood still. She closed her eyes and focused her energy and thought on the feeling and the Force. It took a minute, but then the light from the test came to her and surrounded her. It seemed to be whispering something to her, but it was too soft to hear. She focused more, listenning carefully, almost meditating on it.

"...Love.."

Raven clenched her jaw, focusing. "..Love.." It kept repeating it. Raven didn't under stand.

"What?" She asked it.

"You... Love..." the light whispered in her ear.

"Love?" Raven asked.

The feeling was starting to swell inside her, making it hard to keep her focus. It made her head get warm and fuzzy, and filled her stomach with tickling feathers.

"Your in Love." The Force said clearly.

"No.." Raven protested. How could that be? All the people she ever cared about was gone. "No. Your wrong."

"I'm never wrong. Your in love."

"NO!" Raven yelled and awoke from her thought. She was still standing in the middle of her room.

Her heart was raising. She couldn't be. She couldn't be in love. Austin was the only one she ever loved. She was not going to replace him. She would make sure of that.

Raven walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair, rubbing her chest where her heart rampaged wildly. She picked up her sketch book and flipped it open. She came to the page of the plans and sketches of her old mechanical hound, Purple. She missed having him. He was such a loyal and good friend. If only she still had his parts so she could work on rebuilding him. If she still had him, prehaps he would help her bust out of this place. One of Vader's Jedis or not, she still felt like a prisoner being held on this station. And sure, there was no home to return to, but there had to be another planet out there she could live on if such a station exsisted. She didn't plan to spend the rest of her life in a giant building floating around in space. If only Purple was still here.

And then, she sparked an idea. It would be risky and take a long time, but it just might work.

She got up and walked over to her door. She pressed the button on the pad the robot had showed her earlier. A minute or two later, a knock was on the door. Raven opened it and another one of the stiff-jointed robots stood there.

"You called, Miss?" It asked.

"Yeah." Raven said. "I was wondering, if there are any left over mechanical parts I could use." she asked.

The robot was silent for a minute. "Um, I'm not sure. I'd have to go down to the scrap room and ask a servicebot down there. May I ask what you need them for?"

Raven grinned at the robot. "I plan to make a machine to play some of my old music. Oh, and to build an old friend of mine."


	7. The Warrior 3

The pieces of metal and scraps that were available in the scrap room wasn't very promising. But it should be enough to start on building a skeleton of the whole thing. Raven wouldn't be able to make it look identical to Purple, since she lacked the right supplies and tools but it would function the same. She thought to make him a little bit bigger if she could, which would allow her to ride him or use him for protection. The only problem was, she'd need to find more metal to use. Tools would also be a helpful thing to have.

The service robot had brought up three boxes full of parts to old robots and controls for who knows what. Raven busily rumaged through them and sorted them out by thickness, size and shape. She looked at each piece carefully, trying to decide if it could be used in the building process or not. As time went by, Raven became very tired. It had to have been a good 20 hours since she had gotten any decent sleep. But her idea proceeded her to continuing to look through three boxes of metal.

There was one piece that looked like the handle to a gun. It still had some plasma inside it which glowed an intense red. Raven thought this could be useful, as she set it aside in a safe place. Another piece looked like a hand of a robot. She looked closely at all the parts that put it together. So many screws, wires and bolts she could use in building the skeleton.

Raven was so involved with looking through the parts, she did not hear her door open. She remained on the floor, sitting on her knees, until she felt the thick precence of someone fimilar. The raspy breathing was clearly heard.

Her throat went thick and dry, and the feeling returned. This time, it wasn't confusing like before. Instead it scared her quite a bit. She turned around and quickly scrambled to her feet.

There, across the room, stood Darth Vader. He was staring down at her slightly and lost in poundering. Raven held her head low as she waited for him to say something.

"How do you like your place?" He asked in his deep and dark voice.

Raven nodded her head slowly. "It's nice." It was a simple reply and it set the atmosphere around them to an uncomfortable level.

Vader walked over, almost standing next to her and peered down at the scraps of metal scattered all around her feet. Vader turned his head to her, almost asking her clearly why she had it.

Raven hesitated, her face getting warm around her cheeks. "Um.. I was trying to build my old robot friend I had back at home. I asked if I... could use the scrap metal and see if I could build him again." she said in a small, sheepish voice.

She felt like a child, standing there, with the scraps of metal as her huge and obvious mess, and Vader the angry parent, ready to punish her. But he wasn't angry. In fact, Raven was sure she felt the sense that he was smiling down at her through that dark mask of his. He seemed to be amused by how ashamed she must have looked just then.

"So... you're a mechanic?" He asked her gently.

Raven could relax now, knowing he wasn't upset. "Yes. I like to build things."

Vader chuckled and turned to look at her desk. "I use to build things too. I was a bit younger than you though, but I still remember it. My first droid."

Raven stood there, trying not to gape at him. It was a side of him she had not seen or expected from him. But he shook of the sweet innocent thought and looked back in her direction. "If you wish to build a copy of your old droid, I can provide you some of our droids we don't use anymore to held you construct it." He said.

Raven's eyebrows raised. That would be good. Since the robots here had very hi-tech brains, prehaps she would have an easy time building its memory and brain system. And things were always easier the second time. "I would like that, thanks. " Raven said quietly, slightly smiling up at him.

"And if you need any tools or help with the droids, the mechanics down in the RSTR will help you. I will assign that task to one of the mechanics to asist you. " He said to her. He turned around quickly, his cape fluttering behind him. He stopped at the door and turned back to look at her.

"Get some sleep. Tomorrow, you will begin your Jedi training. "

"Yes,..." Raven paused awkwardly. "Darth Vader."

Vader looked at her hard through the black lends in front of his eyes. Raven could look him in the face now. Shit, she thought, I really screwed up on that. She didn't know how to address him properly.

"You will call me Master from now on..." His voice was hallow and cold now. Raven could sense he was fighting back frustration. This scared her.

Vader parted from the room and her door sealed shut.

Raven's whole body quivered. Something about him struck her with such fear and nervousness. That's probably why its so hard to speak to him. She hoped the feeling wasn't apart of the awkwardness. She could feel her face flush a bit. But he was right, thinking about his last command. She needed some rest.

Raven set all the equipment down and walked over to her bed. She slipped her pants off and climbed in under the blanket. The bed was very soft and comforting and set her instantly into a trance. A few minutes later, she was asleep.

She was in a dream. She stood inside her old chamber cell. Right in the very middle of it, is where. Vader was turning from her and moving quickly to the door. But not quickly. This dream was slow and time dragged on. She blinked several times, as his cape took minutes to completely fall back to his heels. His powerful stride went on even longer. There was this strange earge inside of her. She wanted to reach out and touch his cape; to let her fingures trace the wrinkles and curves it made in mid air. The feeling was swelling and circling her entire body. But it was very soothing. Calm. Connected. The dream changed.

Raven was now in the middle of a dark room. Everything was black, except for a white light that shown down dimly on her. Vader stood in front of her. His mask was barely highlighted by the white light above. He looked like a phantom standing there, and partly camophlosing with the black room. The feeling continued to swirl around inside her. She could feel herself trembling. She was scared, but at the same time overwhelmed with lust. She hadn't felt this way for a very long time.

Her eyes were getting worse. The sight of Vader was fading and she could barely see him. But she could still sense his presence. So she trusted her senses and closed her eyes, absorbing this wave of extacy that was in the air. A leather gloved hand grabed her shaking jaw. A voice was heard. "I can see you shaking." His words were so fimilar.

The glove hand was strong, and she could feel it. The hand forced her mouth to open a bit and another came to her lips. A fingure slipped between her teeth gently. She could taste the rubbery leather. It tasted burnt but rich. She sucked on it and and moaned. Her body was shaking uncontrolably with this feeling. It had infected completely. She was about to reach out and grab the face of the hands. But then a gust of air went by and the hands were gone. No longer in her mouth or around her jaw line. She opened her eyes to see nothing but pitch black. It took her a minute to realize that she was actually awake now, staring into the pitch blackness of her room.

She shivered. It was cold. She had sweated very badly and the sheets were soaked and stuck to her body.

That dream... she grabbed her head with her hand, shaking her head back and forth. Such a terrible and sick dream. She couldn't believe it. The feeling in that dream had drove her to lust and it all felt so real; tasted so real. That taste of burnt leather was still on the tip of her tongue. And that lusty feeling... for Vader; still fresh in her mind.

She needed some water.

She pulled the wet sheets away from her and got up out of the bed. The cold air of the room was unbareable. She felt around on the floor for her pants and quickly put them on. Then she stumbled over to the drobe and opened it, grabbing a dry shirt. She took of her wet one and tost it aside, replacing the dry one over her head. She didn't bother to check which shirt she had put on.

She held her arms out infront of her and felt for the other wall, when she came to it, she crawled along side it, until she found the pad and pressed the large button.

The robot didn't come as quickly as it did before. She didn't expect it to.

The door opened and one of the stiff-jointed ones was standing outside of the room. It asked in a very gentlemen tone. "Hello, madam. How may I help you?"

"I need some water." Raven said in a hush voice. She was afraid to talk any louder than a whisper incase very one else in the hall was asleep.

"Oh I see. There is drinking water in the food hall, and bathing water in the bathrooms. Which do you need?" The robot asked.

"Um.." Raven thought. "Which is closest?"

The robot looked down the hall, estimating the distance. "I do believe the bathroom is 71.6 feet closer."

"Then take me to the bathrooms please." Raven said glancing around the hallway for anyone else.

"Oh of course. This way." The robot turned to the right and started to shuffle its way down the hall. Raven quickly followed it, her small feet making no sound compared to the robot's mechanical joints moving back and forth.

Once the robot showed her to the bathroom, he waited out side of it. She walked in and looked around. It was a silver color and very dark. Not what you would except for a bathroom. There were three sinks lined up next to each other and then three doors across from them. She guessed those wear the toilets. Two showers were on her left, one much larger than the other. She didn't understand that very much, but didn't pay much attention to it. She came over to the sink and rinsed her mouth out. Then took a cup of water in her hands and splashed her face. That should help.

She turned to walk out of the bathroom. Once she came out into the hallway, she did not see the robot that guided her from her room. She looked about in the dark hallway her weak eyes scanning all around. Her eyes came to the end of the hallway and stayed there.

There stood a tall dark figure. He breathed deeply.

Raven's eyes went large. Darth Vader stood only 10 feet away. Right when Raven's heart began to thump hard in her chest, Vader turned on his heels quickly and walked down the hallway. His cape, like before in the cell, flipped out and around so graceful, yet somehow intimidating. It made Raven's whole body shake. The feeling of lust from the dream was starting to stir inside.

Vader disappeared around the corner and only the dark shadows remained. Raven's whole head swelled and shut off. She fell.

Her body hit the cold floor.


	8. The Warrior 4

She awoke back in her room, only this time there was light to greet her. She shoke her head slowly, which was pounding uncontrolably. She still couldn't figure out if the bathroom was just part of her dream. It sure didn't feel like it though.

Her head stopped pounding enough for Raven to sit up in her bed. She looked around the room and at first, she saw nothing. But then in the corner, was a man in white cloak, sitting at her desk and reading something.

This man appeared to be in his mid-age, probably late 30s or early 40s. He had a broad face strucker and dark hair which had streaks of silver that showed her his true age.

He didn't notice she was awake for a while, until she stired the bed sheets around. He looked up, his icy blue eyed gaze gently looking at her. He smiled a easy smile. "It's good to see you finally came around."

Raven looked at him strangely, but remained silent and in her terrible slumped possition on the bed.

The man got up from the desk and set his papers down. "You gave our Lord quite the scare there, last night." He told her, walking over to her and kneeling next to the bed.

Raven felt a lump wedge in her throat. She still remained silent.

The man smiled again and chuckled. "You don't remember, do you? I didn't think so, you hit yor head pretty good..."

Raven's eyebrows raised. "Are you a doctor?" it was all she could really bring out to ask.

The man nodded. "I was ordered to stay down her until you woke up and make sure you were ok." The man paused to clear his throat, then continued. "Acording to Lord Vader, you came out of a bathroom in the hall and collapsed. Said you looked mighty pale. He thought you might have become ill. So he carried you down to the imfermary and I checked on you. You were fine, you must have gotten a little too light headed or tired."

Raven shivered a bit. Darth Vader had carried her. She grabbed her arms tightly, holding them close to her stomach.

The doctor nodded his head a couple of times, his eyebrows close together as if thinking to himself. "Well, if you are alright, I best be getting back to the imfermary." He stood to his feet, adjusting his coat as he did so.

Raven looked up to him and quickly asked. "How long was I out?"

"Oh, I'd say about eight hours. It's midday right now, so you only missed breakfest." He chuckled.

Raven blinked a couple of times, looking down at the floor.

The doctor left her room without another word and she remained sitting there, thinking. Why did she pass out? She could barely remember even leaving the bathroom. But acording to the doctor, she had made it out into the hallway and then went out. And Vader saw...

She shuddered again, remembering her previous dream. It was definately going to stay with her for a while.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, softly. Think openly, she told herself. Just think very simple. She started to picture strange and colorful patterns in her head. This helped her relax.

The door to her room flew open again, and heavy foot falls followed. She looked up, expecting to see the doctor come back in. Instead, she saw the mechanic from before walk in. If she remembered correctly, his name was Casco. He came in and stood standing tall, looking down at her. "Hello, Raven. Good to see you again."

Raven flushed a bit and quickly stood up and off the bed. She bowed her head and smiled, "It's good to see you again, too." She felt a little embarrased to have company right now. Her hair was all messy from bedhead.

Casco grinned and then looked down on the floor where her box of scraps and metal lay. "I was told that you were trying to rebuild an old droid of yours." He said, giving her a keen eye. "Never expected you to be a mechanic yourself."

Raven nodded. "Yes, I use to build a lot of things in my free time."

Casco nodded. "Well, I am stopping by to ask if you would like to go down to the storage room for droid pieces and the mechanic room to get some tools to build with."

Raven's eyes became big with excitement. "Oh yes, I would love to."

"I thought so. Well, if you want to go, we need to go now. Lord Vader has you scheduled for training in two hours."

Raven's large grin slightly faded. She had forgotten about that. Oh well, at least she'd get more inspiration to build her new version of Purple.

Raven grabbed her shoes off the floor and slipped them on quickly. She then followed Casco out the door of her room.

Casco led her down an unfimilar route. They took an elevator down a level and came to a darker hallway. It looked just as formal, but it had less lighting and had almost a sci-fi movie glow to it. As the two of them walked down the hall, they passed a large line of storm troopers. Raven couldn't help but noticed a feeling that some of them watched her as she passed. She ignored their gazes and stayed up with Casco as best she could. He had such a long stride compared to her with her short legs.

They came to a fork in the hallway and Casco turned to the left. In the wall of the hallway was a strange looking droid. It had a very large head but small and scrawny limbs. It looked very odd and disporportionate compared to the other humanoid droids she had seen. She turned her head to continue to look at the droid curiously. Wonder what metal its made out of, she thought, observing its extremely shiny coating.

Paying too much attention to the droid, caused her to collide with something large and fuzzy. She turned quickly to see what she thought at first was a large bear standing on two legs. She froze on the spot looking up at it. It glared down at her and made a roaring sound. "Hraaaaaorn!"

Raven stayed glued to her place, terrified. Then she felt a harsh tug on her arm and she was yanked around the bear-like creature. Casco had grabbed her and pulled her out of the way. "Careful," he told her in a huss voice. "It's not smart to upset the workers."

Raven looked at him with much confusion. "What... wh-what is that thing?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"A wookie. They're very intelegant and strong creatures; the best workers the Death Star could ever have, but they can have a very short temper. You never want to get on a wookie's bad side."

Raven turned and looked back at the wookie. As she watched it walking away, it moved just like a human; a rather large, fuzzy human. It could pull off to be Big Foot back on Earth.

Raven looked back around and continued to follow Casco down the hall. At the end, he stopped at a door. He pulled a card out of his pants' pocket and swiped it infront of a scanner next to the door. A green light lit up on the scanner and the door slide open with ease.

The two of them walked into a room full of equipment, lights, and loud sounds. Raven gaped at all the strange and unigue shaped tools and metal that were in the room. Many people were walking around and working on their own different task. The first man they past was incredibly young and was bolting in some parts to a robot. He only glanced up at Casco and Raven for a split second and looked back down to what he was doing. Raven could tell from him and how busily everyone else was working that they took their jobs very seriously. She smiled.

It reminded her of an advanced version of her old mechanics class when she was still at Tribbleton High.

Raven took a minute to observe all the other workers in the room. Most of them were human, but she then spotted out another one of those wookies. This wookie looked smaller and had a metal cuffs around its paws. She stared at the cuffs, which definately didn't look like fashionwear. Was it a prisoner being forced to work? Another strange person she saw was in the back of the room, taking pieces of droids apart. This guy had a bluish tone to his skin and large eyes. He looked almost like a fish, or something you would see in a fairy tale book.

Casco taped her on the shoulder from behind and she wheeled around, taking her attention away from the workers. There was another man standing next to him, smiling down at her.

"Raven, this is Aralin. He will be helping you gather your needed supplies and answer any of your questions." Casco told her.

Raven nodded and bowed to Aralin. He was a large fellow, slightly pudge around the waist. He had a small beard working around his face and his broad chin. But he had a very soft look to him. He nodded his head to Raven. "Shall we get started?"

He took her around to the back of the room where the fish like man was working. On his left was a huge shelf full of boxes of tools and large sharp things that Raven couldn't wait to use. Aralin raised an arm up to gesture to the shelf. "These tool boxes are extras we have for the mechanics that need to make repairs outside of this room. Your welcome to take one. They're all the same, so just grab the first and follow me this way."

Raven came up to the shelf and grabbed the first box she saw. It was a little heavy but she managed it. Aralin started back to the middle of the room, with Raven quickly behind him. They past Casco, who had started working again on a project of his. He smiled to Raven as they past and winked. Raven grinned back to him, but felt herself flush a bit. Who knows how much older he was than her.

Aralin took her to the side of the room and up to a door, it slid open automatically and they walked in. The room was full of complete droids that were not up and running. She noticed on the shelves on the side, were full of sealed boxes which were labeled different droid parts.

Aralin looked down to Raven, "Now, tell me. What is it exactly your trying to rebuild?"

Raven took her glance away from the many different droids and looked up in his face. "I had a robotic pet back on my homeplanet. It was a mechanical hound."

"Mechanical hound?" Aralin repeated, his eyebrows coming together, looking a bit confused. That's right, they probably didn't have dogs or animals similar to them, she thought. Raven tried to think how she would explain it. "Um... a hound is a creature that is on four legs, has a tail and a long face." She told him gesturing a muzzle on her own face.

"How big is it?" Aralin asked.

Raven gestured with her arms how tall Purple originally stood and how long he was from nose to tail. Aralin nodded his head several times. "Hm... not a bad size. What was its directive?"

"Well, it was mostly for protection, like a guard, but I also had him as something to keep me company."

Aralin nodded again. "Oh I see... so much like a battle droid. Alright, alright. We have plenty of weapons left from the old battle droids we can use to attach to your droid. We also have plenty of joints for its legs. But if your wanting it to look more like an animal than a human, I'll have to give you some guides to build its head and body."

Raven nodded, looking back at the droids and seeing which limbs she could use. "I'd like my hound to be able to run quick."

Aralin tightened his expression, looking around the droid selection and pulling lightly on his small beard. "Hm.. well, in that case you'll have to modify the limbs. All of our quick droids got around on wheels or hovercrafts." He then walked over to one of the droids and pulled a large tool with a magnet blade on its tip. He used it to dislocate the two legs and set them down on the ground. He then came up to a droid that looked the same and removed its legs and tosted them next to the others. Aralin stood up and paused, looking back over to Raven. "How smart are you wanting your droid?"

Raven thought a bit on this. If she was wanting to use this new hound to escape, it needed to know the ways of this new world and be very intellegent.

"My last one was very smart, could talk in multiple languages and knew every logical thing nessacery. " she told him.

Aralin nodded his head several times again. "in that case, you'll want one of the mind chips from a C-O models. Let me just get one out of one of these boxes..." he bent down and looked at all the labels on the boxes. He then came to on that was marked "inner C-O" and pulled it out onto the floor. He pulled his card out from his belt and slid it across the seal on the box. It unclicked and Aralin pulled the lid of the box. He shuffled around the wrapped up small chips and found one he was looking for. He handed it to Raven and then looked back into the box. He pulled out a booklet and read over the cover to make sure it was correct.

"This will help you see the layout of the C-O model chip so you can customise it how you want the droid's personailty to be."

Raven nodded her head again, taking the booklet from him.

"That should be enough to get started. You should probably get back to your room now since you have some kind of training in a little while.." Aralin mumbled, reaching up and pulling an empty box off the shelves full of droids and droid parts. He picked up the limbs he had gathered on the floor and put them in carefully. He reached out his hand to Raven to take the tool box she was struggling to keep in her grip. She smiled thankful to him, handing it over. "Thanks so much for your help." She told him.

"Not at all. It's rare to have a female mechanic around here. Just making sure you have everything you need." Aralin smiled down at her, his small beard ruffling around his mouth.

He guided her back into the main work room and took her to the exit.

"Let me just buzz in a droid to carry your box for you." He punched a button on the pad next to the door. A droid came up to the door, waiting paitently for its comand. This droid was very different from the stiff jointed ones. This one had wheels for feet and long arms. It still had humanoid features but were less realistic.

"Take this box and escort this young lady back to her room." Aralin instructed.

"What is the area section and room?" The droid asked. It's voice was very flat and electronic, a typical voice for the stereo type of a robot.

Aralin looked back at Raven. "Do you remember which hall and room number you were in?"

Raven bit her lower lip. "I think so. Um.. 66th Section, Room 91." She told the droid.

The droid sat there a minute, estimating where this location was. Once it figured it out, it turned around on its wheels and started off down the hall. Raven quickly started after it but heard her name. "See you later, Raven."

She turned around and squinted back into the mechanic room. She saw Casco waving at her, grinning a large grin. She smiled and waved back.

She stayed next the droid as it guided her back to the elevator lift.

Back in her room, Raven felt more relaxed. She only had this room for a day, but it already felt like her sactuary. But she wouldn't be in its safe aura for very long. Her Jedi training was going to start any minute, and she would either leave it or its safe feeling would be invaded by another presence. His presence.

Raven swallowed hard. She was pretty sure Vader would be the one training her. She was afraid of seeing him again. Afraid she would feel the extacy arise in her again as it did in her dream.

Now that the Force had revealed to her what this feeling was, it was fully let out. And much alive.

Raven took deep breaths, relaxing herself. She didn't want to appear suspicious in anyway. Calm and collected, her mother always said; that was the key.

Raven left the droid parts in the box that Aralin had given her, on the table. She didn't have time to mess with them now. Someone would be here any minute to take her to her training site. That, or he would be here soon.

She paced back and forth in her large room, trying to stay cool. But she was too impatient and couldn't stay still. Time was going by normal, but it felt incredibly and painfully long.

Suddenly, she heard the door to her room slide open. Raven turned quickly, her heart beating out of control. She then relaxed. It was only a droid.

The stiff jointed droid walked in slowly and slightly bowed to her. "Hello again, miss. I'm here to take you the Lord's quarters to began your Jedi training."

Raven nodded her head and her heart sank in. She was hoping she would be doing the training here, where she felt secure.

Raven grabbed her lightsaber off the desk and started out the door. The droid stopped her instantly. "Oh wait, miss. I was also instructed to tell you to wear your training outfit." He told her.

Raven looked at him confused. But then she looked over to her woredrobe. She walked over to it and opened it. Inside she saw the white and brown tunic and the white leggings that matched it. She pulled them out, holding them up so the droid could see. "You mean this?"

The droid merely expressed itself with quick motions of its arms and hands. "I do believe so. That appears to look like a Jedi outfit for a lady."

Raven sighed. She didn't actually think she would have to wear this weird looking thing. But if it was an order, she had to obey to stay out of trouble.

"Do you mind?" She asked the droid politely.

The droid perked its head up a bit. "Oh yes, of course." it mumbled to itself, shuffling out of the room so that she could change.

Raven quickly pulled off her shirt and pants and tossed them roughly onto the bed. She first pulled the white leggings on and then slipped the tunic over her head like a dress. Once she had it on, it felt very comfortable. It was easy for her to flex and bend her joints in it. She could see why it was a training outfit. She then looked over into the woredrobe again, noticing the brown leather boots. She pulled them out, comparing them to her outfit. If she had to guess, they were probably suppose to be worn with the rest of the outfit. So she unbuckled the straps that went up the boots and slipped them on. They, like the tunic, were very soft and fit nice and easy around her feet. They were slightly too big but she didn't worry about them coming off.

Raven picked up her lightsaber again. She then noticed that the handle had a clip to it that matched the side of her tunic's belt. How handy, she thought, smiling to herself. She latched the handle onto the belt and walked out the door, acompanying the droid.


	9. The Warrior 5

They stopped in front of the same door which was just on the bridge. The sounds and humming of the generators and machines in this area calmed Raven's nervous shaking. She couldn't help it, when she was nervous, she shook. The droid hit the same combination as the Storm Trooper had and the door open. Deja-vu filled her head as she watched the droid step aside.

"Please, go on in." The droid told her in its polite voice.

She swallowed hard, clearing her thoat. The last thing she wanted, was her mind to be filled of the memories of her dreams.

She walked into the room.

It was much darker than she last remembered. The lights were low and the aura of this room was different. Once she was in, the door slid shut behind her. She didn't even have to look to know where he was.

Vader stood off to the side; his back facing her as he looked out a window that showed open space. The stars were bright and sparkled stronger than they had on Earth. Raven stood, facing him, waiting patiently. Vader's voice arose. "Did you sleep well?"

Raven tried to stop shivering, but it was impossible. "Yes."

Vader did not move. He looked to be a stiff statue in his tall appearance. Raven blinked several times, waiting for him to turn around. But he didn't. She observed his stance that he held. His back was held strong and his legs spread apart, giving him more balance. His hands looked to be behind him, hiding under his dark cape. He continued to gaze out of the window. Raven felt her gaze remain on his leg structure. Even through the thick leather and fabric, she could see his thighs and legs were built strong; almost unhuman. But she couldn't resist looking away. Seeing it wasn't enough; she wanted to feel the structure of his build. She held fast, fiting her entangled thoughts, and biting down on her lower lip.

"Interesting..." she heard Vader say.

She quickly looked up away from his legs, feeling her cheeks get hot.

"Pardon?" She asked softly.

Vader now finally moved. He turned only a little to glance over his broad shoulder at her. "Your thoughts are very interesting."

She felt her lungs give out for a split second. Had she not thought that perhaps there was even more to this Force. That he was able to read her mind.

"You... can hear my thoughts?" she asked nervously.

Vader only nodded once, still looking into her over his shoulder. He then looked back over to the window; back into his still position.

Raven felt her heart beating fast. Great, now for sure he was suspicious.

She held her head low now, keeping her attention on the floor and trying not to think of anything else she didn't want him to know of.

But what good was that going to do.

Vader then turned around completely, facing her and breathing in as he thought to himself. "One of the things you will need to be taught is to clear your mind." He told her.

Raven nodded her head, still looking down.

"You don't want your thoughts to be used against you. And nor do you want your dreams to be either..."

Raven's heart was beating violently now. Oh please, she thought, please say he doesn't know.

Vader chuckled softly under his breath. "But I do know."

Raven closed her eyes and biting her lip harder now.

"I was in your mind as you dreamt last night." he said deeply.

Raven trembled more. She grabbed her stomach trying to stop her nervous shaking. "I.. I'm sorry." she said in a small voice.

Vader must have been surprised then. His aura became more light and curious. She continued. "I don't know why I had those dreams. I didn't mean for it... it to look that way."

She felt a smile upon her, but she refused to look up. Vader sounded pleased. "You do know why you dreamt what you did." But just then his smile slightly faded. "Don't lie to me."

Raven nodded again. "But its so confusing."

Vader sighed, "One thing truly powerful about the Force," he began. "Is the unity it can give to two wielders."

Raven listened thoughtfully, thankful of the topic change.

"When two people are strong with the Force, they can sense each other more than one who is an outsider to the Force. It is almost like a magnet bringing the Force that surrounds them both closer together. And even though these two are far apart, they can be near each other in the presence of the Force." he waited a second for her to absorb this information.

Raven thought about his words. So if she were on the other side of the station, Vader would be able to be next to her only in a presence than physically. Not even that, he would be able to invade her thoughts when ever he wished. The thought didn't comfort her at all.

"Did you not sense me in your dream?" He asked her.

Raven froze. She finally looked up to see his mask looming down on her. A long silence followed.

Vader nodded his head a couple of times. "Yes... you did."

Raven's lip was trembling, even though she still chewed on it.

Vader stretched out his hand to her face. Raven flinched as she gave a sharp breath. But she was afraid to move away from his out stretched hand this time; Remembering how he seemed to be angered by it. She held her ground, but felt very vulnerable on the spot.

Vader's hand came to her jaw, and gently supported it. This stopped her lip from shaking. He was definatly smiling at her through his mask.

She breathed heavly, waiting.

"Try to relax. You shouldn't be so tense before we began your training." he said almost in a hush voice.

His voice sounded soothing, like an elder to a small and frightened child. She gazed at him deeply and did her best to obey. Once she began to loosen up, Vader nodded slowly and release her jaw. He stood up all the way and backed up a bit from her.

"As the first lesson, we are going to start basic. And what you need to increase your skill in is the strength of your mind. Even with your mind clear, strong minds will be able to invade and have an influence over you."

Raven nodded to show she understood. She felt herself smile a bit. She had thought a lot on this trick he told her about. Being able to prosway someone to do as she wanted would be a handy skill to have.

"What I want you to do is clear your thoughts right now and think openly about nothing but the Force flowing around you. You need to stay deep in a trance to go into a meditation."

Raven breathed in and out and deeply, closing her eyes. She kept her focus on the space around her and the energy that flowed around. Pretty soon, she was able to see the beautiful light that resebled the Force swarming her in a silky vapor. She only thought about it, watching the way it moved slowly in circles. The force whispered to her, but not in the same soft voice it had before. "You sense me now, don't you?" It was Vader's voice. He was speaking to her through the Force.

Yes, she thought in her mind. She barely focused on replying as she kept her mind clear. "I am now going to try and persuay your mind. Try to resist by staying clear and focused."

Raven sighed deeply. The atmosphere was getting heaviery. Her body was losing its loose feeling. She focused more on the energy around her, but it was much too strong. Her body started to move, but not on her own free will. She felt it move slowly as she struggled against the invation. The energy started to make her head burn as her thoughts got more tense.

Suddenly she was snapped back to the small room she stood in. She opened her eyes and first saw Vader looking at her hard. She then noticed, in her hands was her lightsaber, extended and aimed right at her throat. Her eyes went wide in fear.

Vader sighed deeply. "You didn't try hard enough. If I really wanted to, I could have made you kill yourself just now."

Raven slowly lowered her lightsaber, sealing the blade back in and put it back on her belt. "Sorry... I will try harder." she promised, a little shaken.

She heard a deep sigh escape from his mask. "Now you know what to expect. So consentrate more this time." He told her.

Raven again, focused on the Force. She then began to clear her mind of all thoughts, allowing it to flow over her and through her. And this time, she sensed Vader's presence. She could scene his thoughts overshadowing her. They were strange and different. She tried to ignore them. But they were too rash, harsh and cruel. The feeling that came from them were too hard to ignore and disobey. The tension was making it harder to breathe.

"Stop." Raven snapped back to the present. She then realized that it was she which made it hard to breathe. This time, he had persuayed her to try and strangle herself. Raven flushed, lowering her hands from around her neck, looking down shamefully. She could not find the courage to apologize this time.

Vader stared at her long and hard. "I did not expect you to get it so soon. It is rare for someone to fight a strong mind like my own."

Raven still felt bad. Your so weak, she told herself, as she shut her eyes.

'You are not weak.' Vader told her. He spoke to her threw the force. 'You are learning something you are completely new to. Don't expect too much from yourself so soon. You were at least able to sense the danger of being overcome. That is good progress for today.'

Raven opened her eyes to stare up at him. She tried to avoid looking directly at his mask as she could sense a smile on his face.

'Talk to me.'

Raven opened her mouth to say something but Vader raised his hand to stop her. 'Don't use your words. Use your mind. Let the Force express your words to where I can hear them.'

Raven's eyebrows came together as she focused on this. She began to think her words aloud in her head. 'Like this?' she asked.

Vader held a long pause. 'No, you are speaking only in your mind. I can only hear you because I am close enough to sense your thoughts. Push your thoughts to me. Let the Force take them away and give them to me.'

Raven closed her eyes once again, as she had found it easier to be intouch to the force that way. She could sense the beautiful light all around her. She could see it. The Force taking the form of a web that was connected from her forehead to Darth Vader. Like a phone cable.

'I think I understand it.' She told him.

Vader nodded his head. 'Yes.'

There was a long pause. Raven continued to look at the intangled web of light that connected them two spiritually. It was strange to see. The light around her and the cable closer to her was brighter and cleaner looking. But as it drew closer to Vader, it became dark, thick, and gloomy. She frowned at that thought, but quickly changed, knowing Vader could still read her thoughts.

"Practice talking to me through the Force." He now said with his voice.

"This will help your connection with the Force grow stronger and strengthen your mind."

Raven nodded. "Is the training done for today?" She asked politely, hoping not to sound too eager to leave.

Vader chuckled softly. "Not yet. Now we must began more training with your lightsaber. Take it out, I will teach you some basic techniques for battle."


	10. The Warrior 6

Raven hurried her way down the corridor. The droid had said that the cafeteria would be just down here, but she had yet to come across it.

Training had taken more energy out of her than she thought, leaving her famished. All those steps, positions, and protection stances would be hard to remember. She also didn't like the idea of having only a lightsaber as protection. She had little faith in just a stick shaped sword to deflect attacks.

Once she found the cafe, it gave her quite a shock. The size of it was huge, but barely anyone was in it. She must have come just after the lunch rush. She walked in, looking around in wonder. All of the lights and fixtures were still stunning and so strange to see.

Raven looked down again and saw what looked like a buffet. One of the women that she guessed lived here was surving herself a helping. Raven's stomach growled. She could not wait any longer. She walked over next to the woman at the buffet and looked upon all the food. Most of it looked very bazaar. One looked like chicken legs, only twice as large and more of a maroone color. The rest of it was different types of roots and plants covered in some sort of thick sauce. She sighed at the intimidating selection. Before she began to serve herself, she tapped on the woman's shoulder. The woman glanced up at Raven away from the food. This woman had very greenish hazel eyes and sandy blonde hair. Her face expression looked sort of faded. "S'cuse, me. But is this food for free?" Raven asked her politely.

The woman smiled slightly at Raven. This smile revealed several wrinkles in the woman's face, along with her true age. "It sure is." She replied.

Raven nodded, looking back at the food. She picked up a plate on the end and started to spoon up a helping of the plants and mush.

"You're new here, aren't you?" The woman asked. Raven looked back at her. The woman was observing her greatly. Raven hesitated a bit.

"Yeah I am." Raven chuckled. "Is it that obvious?" She asked playfully.

The woman laughed too, nodding her head. "A little."

Then the woman gestured her head toward the tables. "Why don't you join me? I'm sure it would be better than eating alone."

Raven smiled, thankful for the friendly offer. She first looked back over at the maroone looking chicken. Nah, she thought, I don't think my stomach would hold it.

Raven walked with the woman to a table and they both took a seat. She sat across from Raven, as she began to fork at the food on her plate.

"So... where did you move or transfer from?" The woman asked, taking a bite of food.

Raven looked down, poking the food with her utinsel. "Uh... well... I didn't really come here by choice."

The woman nodded her head. "Oh, I see. Yes, when the Empire wants you somewhere, there is no saying nay." She looked back down at her food, eating up some more.

Raven took her first bite, chewing carefully. She then looked at the woman with a confused look. "What?"

The woman looked up, surprised by the misunderstanding. "You were ordered to come here to the Death Star, weren't you?"

Raven shook her head. "No... more like kidnapped and brought here by random."

The woman's eyebrows came together. But then she got a surprised look on her face. "Oh! You were one of the people taken from the planet they eliminated not too long ago... weren't you?"

Raven slowly nodded, lowering her head. "Yeah... planet Earth."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sure it's terrible. I had a friend who's home planet was destroyed because the Empire thought it was holding a Rebel base..." She trailed off.

Raven didn't understand much of this Empire and Rebel base, but she kept quite. She didn't want to appear to be uneducated from all of this.

"Oh I'm sorry, we didn't have a proper introduction. My name is Hollia." She said, smiling.

Raven smiled back. "Nice to meet you. I'm Raven."

"So, Raven, what job did they assign you here?"

Raven looked up confuse. "Job?"

"Yeah, you know... did they put you up to be a constructor or... a cook?"

Raven shook her head. "No, none of that."

Hollia gave a stumped look. "So... what have you been doing for the past few days then?"

Raven shoveled a mouth full of food before she returned an answer. "Oh, I've been training."

"Hm, what kind of training?"

"Learning to be a Jedi." Raven began to shovel more food into her mouth, finding this plant entrie to be quite decent. She then looked up from her meal when Hollia broke off into an awkward silence.

Hollia only stared at her, wide eyed. "A Jedi? Are you sure?"

Raven nodded her head. "Yeah, that's what I was told it was called."

Hollia nodded slowly. An amused look on her face began to take form. Raven blinked at her, wondering why this was such a big deal.

"You do know the story of the Jedi, don't you?"

Raven shrugged. "Can't say that I have."

Hollia chuckled looking down at her food, poking at it here and there.

Raven waited, hoping that she would tell her the tale.

"Well," Hollia began. "Let me just start by saying that the Jedi have been gone for serval years. Maybe 20 years by now."

Raven's eyebrows lowered and became firm as she listened.

"The Jedi, far back as anyone can recall, have been known as the warriors of peace. They trained and traveled to keep order to the universe, using nothing but their ancient religion of the Force and their lightsaber weapons. Groups of them could be found all through the systems, one in each specie. But once the dark times came.." she gave a sigh. She had this look to her face which said she must have been there during that time, and remembered it. "That's when the Sith began to emerge and join forces with the republic, but hidden among the good people."

Raven broke her off in the middle. "What is the Sith?"

Hollia looked up from her vacant train of thought. "The Sith, some would say, is the opposite to the Jedi. Or, more like the evil Jedi. They too, used the same training and fighting style, but for dark and selfish purposes. The Sith usually didn't stay very strong since they only came in pairs of two, when the Jedi fought in great numbers. But once the Sith got on the side of the Republic, they became too powerful for the Jedi. They had the political power to back them up, so the Jedi couldn't touch them."

Hollia flashed a glance up and emidately stopped talking.

Raven looked confused. Had she seen something?

She wheeled around in her chair to look. Just out side the cafe, a group of storm troopers were marching by. When they were out of sight, Raven looked back. Hollia hushed to a whisper. "I'm sorry, but by law, your not suppose to speak of the Jedi history... "

Raven's eyebrows raised. She was starting to get how serious all of this was. She leaned in closer so that Hollia didn't have to speak so loud.

"The Jedi felt defeated but didn't give up. What kept them going was a legend. A legend of a Jedi with a midi-chlorian count beyond any other." She stopped when she saw Raven's puzzled expression. "Midi-chlorian per cell is basically the scientific way of saying how 'in tune' you are to the Force." She continued. "This Jedi was supposively so powerful because he was so in tune and connected to the Force. The rest of the Jedi hoped to come across him before the Sith and the Republic completely took over."

"Did they ever find him?" Raven asked, eagerly.

"Yes, he was supposively found. A young boy from a planet called Tatooine, had a count of more than 20,000 midi-chlorian per cell, when an average human only has about 1,000. This boy's name was Anakin Skywalker."

Raven blinked at her, trying to fit the story together like a giant puzzle. "So, if they found this legendary Jedi, how did they stop the Sith?"

Hollia's smile faded. "Well, that's the thing. The Sith weren't stopped. This Anakin did grow up to be a powerful Jedi, but I guess his training wasn't complete in time. Rumors have been heard he was murdered just after the Clone Wars, along with the rest of the Jedi."

"Clone Wars?" Raven asked confused.

"Oh, it was a war fought between the 'original' Sith and the Republic. There were two sets of Sith Lords, one that was the obvious enemy and the other that was hidden among the councils. I, along with many others, believed the Clone Wars was just a distraction for the Sith to get close to the main power of the Republic."

Raven nodded her head, soaking in the information. "So... who killed Anakin and the other Jedi?"

Hollia shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Who knows.. some say the Republic ordered a cover up on their removal.. other's say one of the Jedi's betrayed them and joined the Sith. But know one is really sure what happened. All I know is the intention was to wipe out all of the Jedi. And they did a good job of it. If there are any Jedi left, they have probably retired and went off to hide for the rest of their lives..."

Raven gulped. All of this new information made her wonder. If the Jedi had been gone for so long, why was she and the other people from Earth being trained to become them. It was almost like Darth Vader was trying to give rebirth to the Jedi kind. Or maybe... she thought more on this. What if he was a Sith Lord? And he was only training them by the Jedi way but planed to make them into multiple Sith pairs...

Raven looked back at Hollia, breaking her long thoughts. "I can see why it was so surprising to hear me saying I was training to be a Jedi.."

Hollia nodded her head giving off a nervous chuckle. "Yes. I must say, it was a blast from the past, remembering all of that. Not to mention it is illegal to even speak of the Jedi. So, if your being trained, who is teaching you?"

Raven paused before she replied. "Darth Vader."

Hollia's expression locked up and her face became shocked again. "Oh dear..."

Raven had a feeling she would get this reaction. "What is it?" She went ahead and asked.

"Lord Vader, he is one of the Sith Lords of this time. You must be careful. He could manipulate your mind if you're not careful." She shook her head slowly from side to side. "He's probably planning on turning you into an apprentence. Oh... but to see such a small and sweet girl such as yourself... evil." She shook her head more, placing her figure tips on the bridge of her noes.

Raven blinked at her. She didn't want this old woman to worry about her, seeing that she was one of the very few acquientences she had. Raven quickly looked all around to make sure no one was watching or listening to them. "Don't worry. I plan to escape this place within the next few months."

Hollia stopped shaking her head and looked up. "Escape? How?"

Raven smiled. "I have this droid I'm building who has a learning system, and he will help me get out of this place."

Hollia firmed her eyebrows. "Oh my dear, you don't understand. Escaping the Death Star is nearly impossible. If you do happen to get by the thousands of guards that protect the ships in the ship bay, you won't be able to get away from the station. The whole station has a tractor beam 3 miles around its circumference. If your able to get the ship out of the ship bay, you will only be pulled back in by the tracker beam."

Raven hadn't thought about that. She put her hand to her lip, thinking. A tractor beam. Such a thing would need to be running on multiple generators. Her eyes grew wide and a smile creeped up her face. Just like those many generators surround the extended bridge. If she could get her new mechanical hound to learn about the station's system, she could get him to hunt out the generator powering the tracker beam and take it out. Then she would only have to deal with the guards in the ship bay.

"Not to worry.." Raven replied to Hollia. "I have an idea for that."


	11. The Mechanic 1

Construction. The most tedious part of the creation process. This new hound that Raven was going to build needed to be well adapted to this new world, and thus she was going to ramp up the learning computer she was given. Back on Earth, a few tweeking of the central control system had allowed Purple to learn quickly. But Raven had no time for this new one to learn; it had to know quite a lot already. She needed it to be the teacher so she could learn how to survive in this time and realm.

How advanced all this around her was. At first, she was astonished how all these humans that never heard of Earth were much more ahead in technology. It made her wonder if another line of the human race was out there, and they had won the race of surviving. But she had found out from her new master that she was actually brought into a time warp. That the Death Star and the rest of the people aboard were from the future. But it still didn't explain why they had to go and blow up the birth place of humans. Wouldn't that threaten their exsistance? It made no sense to her.

Raven busily messed with the microscopic parts on the harddrive chip as she listened to her Gorillaz album. Thanks to Casco, she now had a system that could replay her CDs and had her old music back again. She was very thankful of this; as she was begining to somewhat forget how it went.

Once Raven finished her adjustments to the chip, she connected it to a card dock. She then plugged the dock to a computer she had borrowed from the mechanics room. Of course, they were unaware of this since she was forbidded to have access to the comupter information. But her keen tech skills helped her hack into its system. There, she was able to look up information about every main 'galaxy system', species, languages, and ways of life. She was completely blown away by how much was out there, that her generation would have never discovered in their time.

All of this information was ready to be downloaded into the new hound's harddrive. She hooked it all up and began the data reading process. The screen read: Acess Proceeding. Download of Mech. Info. 00021-92825 data starting.

Raven watched as the precent of download slowly increased. As she sat there, waiting, she tried to think of a new name for her hound. Calling it Purple like the old one wouldn't be right, because this one was a new model, much more advanced and powerful. She glanced over at the skeletal basic structure she had already built, which stood looming in the corner of her empty room. It also stood twice as high or maybe more than Purple. Raven looked back at the screen, her eyebrows lowering as she scaned it again. "Mech." She mouthed the word to herself. Then again.

A smile crept up her face. Sounded good. It'll have to do.

Raven suddenly let out a huge yawn. It then just occured to her it was really late, and she needed some sleep for her training tomorrow.

She put down her tools and shut everything off for the night. Time to hit the hay loft, as they had said back home.

She was in a dream. It was very fimiliar. She was walking down a dark tunnel, and the only light was coming from above, following her. Yes, she had definately been in this dream before. Remembering that, her heart began to beat a little faster.

The tunnel emerged into a dark room, where the light stopped at the mouth of the doorway. She could not see anything in front of her. But she could hear something. Foot steps. Heavy on the metal floor. She remained still, listening to it. Once closer, another sound was heard. This one gave away the identity. The heavy, raspy breathing couldn't be mistake. Vader was here.

Raven's palms started to sweat. Part of her knew this was a dream, and knew it could be that Darth Vader was invading her mind again. But there was something different about how he appeared in her dream. Though he was merely a siluwete in the dim light, she saw something more. As she looked to the mask, she could see through it. She saw a face, sheer white as a ghost. But the features were hazy and unclear. Her eyes became wide, as she stared. She wanted to get a better look. She wanted to know what he looked like under that mask. She began to walk toward him, and the sense of the dream shifted. She couldn't bring herself to believe she was dreaming anymore. The room became lighter and the face on his mask changed. It was glowing. As Raven came closer, she saw his face emitting multi colors of light that couldn't be expressed. It was like the Force. She understood now. She wasn't seeing his true face, but merely a suggestion of it in the form of the Force.

Raven stood just infront of him, staring up at Vader. His deep breathing soothed her mind; made her calm. A feeling of connection was starting to built between them.

"You want something..." Vader whispered to her.

Raven blinked. "Yes." She could feel her face firm with concentration.

"Do you know what it is?" He asked.

"Yes." Her eyes half way closed. The feeling of love stirred up.

"Well, do you want it?" He asked her, this time his voice sounded roughly palyful. This made Raven eager.

"So badly." She replied. She bite down on her lower lip as she fought to keep herself from quivering.

Vader slowly spread his stance, giving him a stronger balance. He bent down a little, so that his masked face was just a bit higher than her own.

"Come claim it." He whispered to her.

Raven shut her eyes for a minute, feeling the vapors of the Force coming off his suggested face and tickling her nose and cheeks. She opened them again, staring into the black lens of the mask. This thought went through her mind; 'I had been afraid to claim it. Afraid he wouldn't give it to me. But now he wants me to have it. Wants me to take it from him.'

She smiled and reached her face forward. Her lips collided with his featured face. The Force did not feel like flesh, but the suggestion of it was enough to please her. His lips pressed roughly against hers. She mouthed them and worked at it, enjoying this feeling drown her. There was no way this was a dream, it felt too good.

"Wake up, young one." The deep voice echoed in her train of thought. The vision of the dream faded away and she found herself staring up at the ceiling of her room. She panted, out of breath. That kiss felt real. She couldn't believe it was a dream. But now she was awake, her logical sense returned. Of course it was; it had to have been a dream. Why would Vader have kissed her in the first place?

"Raven..." The deep voice was still there.

Raven sat up quickly in bed. She knew he wasn't in her room. He spoke to her through the Force. "Master..." She was about to apologize to him for sleeping in so late, if she had, but then something occured to her and a wave of fear swept over. "...Were you with me in my dream?" She asked him.

"I was." He replied calmly.

Raven almost choked. She shook her head back and forth. "Oh no..." She mouthed out loud. How was she to explain that dream to him? The first one was unusual, but this was just too suspisous to cover up. "I'm sorry, Master. I should have cleared my thoughts before.." She stopped. There was no use in continuing. Vader had broken away from their connection and she could not sense his presence upon her any longer. She shut her eyes slowly, sighing heavily. He was upset with her, for sure this time.

But she wouldn't be able to escape it. She would go to her daily training and confront him. She could only hope that he will push the thought of it aside and it will all lay low. But what were the odds of that?


	12. The Mechanic 2

Raven's foot falls echoed on heavy floor. Section 66 was always so quiet and vacant at this time. She wondered what hour it would be, Earth time. She was never good at keeping track of time. But it didn't matter now.

Her whole throat was swollen as she sweat nervously. She didn't want to face Vader again with the awkward situtation of her strange dreams. If she didn't get ahold of her mind and thoughts, these dreams would just keep reoccuring, and could possibly get worse, which would lead her into some serious trouble. As she had learned from Vader, during a Jedi's training, they must not let any emotions distract them. And she had a feeling that this lustful feel for her Master would become a very big distraction.

Raven reached Vader's head quarters. She stood there a minute, hesitating. But the presence of Darth Vader was so close, she could not ignore it. She walked on in.

Vader stood once again, facing the window to the open space. The fimilar situation was not comforting for Raven as she walked in and stood in the middle of the room. She always hated de-sha-fu.

Vader's breathing was slightly faster than she last recalled. She couldn't blame him though; he was probably stirred up a bit from what he saw in her dream.

"Did you bring your lightsaber?" Vader asked her.

"Yes, Master." She replied. She felt it necessary to stay completely on his good side by showing a great deed of respect.

"Good." He said simply, turning around to face her.

Raven's gaze flashed to the ground before their eyes made contact. Vader could sense her fear.

"Relax." He commanded her.

Raven tried her best to obey, taking in deep breaths to calm her rapid beating heart.

"Don't worry about it." Vader said, reading her mind. "Your dreams do not bother me. But they distract you."

The Dark Lord paused, taking a deep, rasping breath that echoed against the sharp angles of the dark room. "I suggest meditation,"

Raven looked up, feeling the strain release her a bit.

"It will help if you relax yourself every night before sleeping. That way you have simple and steady dreams."

Raven nodded sheepishly to his suggestion. Sounded good to her.

Vader nodded, moving on. "Now then, I think it is time for one on one combat. Have you been practicing your stances and defences?"

Raven nodded her head swiftly. She started to get nervous again, but for a different reason. She was now finally going to battle with her lightsaber. Now to find out if all that training was worth the time and effort.

Raven got into stance, and faced Vader directly. She pulled her lightsaber off the clip belt on her outfit. Consintrate, she told herself. I can't mess this up. I have to get this right. As Darth Vader drew out his own lightsaber, letting its neon red glow pierce her eyes, she became nervous. She had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

Later that night in her room. Raven, frustrated with her lack of progression, practiced a specific trick with her lightsaber. This trick would allow her to jump over an enemy's head, and in midway in the air, slice off the head from the neck. Vader taught it to her after their duel, which didn't go well for her. He told her this new move will help in battle against tall opponets. The only problem was, Raven could not get herself to jump very high. It was expected that any enemy would be build tall and strong, and she needed to be able to jump a good 7 feet off the ground. At first, the idea of that seemed impossible. On Earth, she could never even jump her height, let alone another good 2 feet extra to that.

Vader had told her to use the Force as a boost; to let it take her by the feet and thrust her into the air, getting that last push that she needed.

But sadly, she could not get her focus tight enough on the Force to allow her up any higher.

Constantly, Raven stood in the middle of the room, focused on the imagenairy target in front of her, and then jumped up. She made a perfect spine with her lightsaber, slicing the air where a head might have been. "Damnit!" She helled when her feet hit the floor. It still wasn't high enough. She had kept at it for so long, she was panting with exhaustion, and yet still didn't get past her own height.

"I sense your anger." Vader said, connecting to her mind.

Raven took a deep sigh and paused her practice to speak with her master.

"I'm sorry if it is distracting you."

"It isn't." There was a pause. "Use your anger to help you succeed."

Raven thought about this. "What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Your anger is a strong source for power and a good connection to the Force. The more angry you get, the more the Force will take you. Then you should have an easier time achieving your goal."

She didn't understand how that would help. When she was younger, her mother had always told her that being calm and collected was the way to find the solution. Anger only made things confusing and lost.

But perhaps the Force worked differently than pure logic. And she couldn't judge Vader's knowlege of such a thing; he was the best.

"Ok." Raven answered simply.

With that, Vader's pressence faded and Raven was completely alone again in her room.

So, she thought, anger is the key? It was still hard to except, not being use to such a thing. Being such a quite and calm person as she usually was, rage and spitfire was a completely new experience. But if it would help her with her training and left her master satisfied, then she would give it a try. What harm could it do?


	13. The Mechanic 3

A month had past. And her experience was gaining. Raven stood in the middle of her room practicing with her lightsaber. It had come to a conclusion that Raven was more gifted with the Force in battle than the mind. And thus made her strive to increase that ability.

She had finally mastered the high spin attack with her weapon, and was moving on to more difficult things. Such things, like timing her count on enemy fire. The Force, as Darth Vader had said, gives one the ability to see the future. And in midcombat, she could see 20 seconds in the future, to know when and where to dodge a strike. But it was all on counting. At first, it was confusing to even understand. But as her master continued to show and train her, she came to realize that it was much like counting music. If you hear a song long enough, you have a sence that can let you logically guess its beats and counts throughout it. And counting the timing of battle was similar. The longer you are in battle with an opponite, the easier you can predict the moves he or she makes.

She practiced with the laser droid for her very first test months ago. It fired at her multiply times. Most of them she could avoid, but a few still got her in the leg or thigh. Counting steps to evade was harder than counting music, as she had learn. Even with her frustration boosting her power, it was very difficult. She had come to believe Vader when he said anger helped one be stronger in the Force. But she hated using it. It was a very handy trick, yet something about her connection to the Force with rage felt sickening. So she only used it when nessacary.

Once the timer on the droid ended and the lasers returned to the inside of the capsule, Raven panted and swung her head back, taking in a big sigh. Her frustration was building too much; she had to cool down. Of course, there is always an instant cure for that, she thought smiling. Her favorite DJ artist, Scooter. His music always soothed her and made her full of happiness.

Raven sealed her lightsaber back into the handle and walked over to her wardrobe. She opened it and instantly saw her CDs sitting in a neat stack on the top shelf. She picked up the first on. Gorillaz Album, it read. As much as she loved the Gorillaz, they wouldn't cure her frustration. The next CD she grabbed was what the doctor ordered. Grinning with excitement, she took the case over to her CD playing machine on her table. She took the CD telligately with her thumb and index fingure and slid the disk in. The machine started to make it spin as the blue ray inside it started to read the data on it. Then the speakers began to spill the wonderous music:

"When I was young, it seemed life was so wonderful. A miracle. Oh, it was beautiful, magical," sang the high pitched voice in the begining. Wasn't Raven's favorite of the songs, but it would do.

She began to dance to the music. Twisting and turning, kicking and jumping, she began to remember the old days when she would lock herself up in her room and jam out to this album at max volume. That was way back when she was still in her small appartment in England. Those were the good days. Before she even started highschool.

Raven began to go into her old breakdance moves she had made up for this song. She spun on her hands and shoulders, thrusting her short legs above her.

The thrill of it all warmed her spirit and the rage faded away. Ahh, she thought, much better. She then looked back over to her lightsaber she had placed down on her bed. A smile creeped up her face. After all, in the begining, Raven had wanted a giant glowstick to rave to like her lightsaber. She thought about. What the heck! She grabbed her weapon and extended it. She then ran over to her light and shut it off. The neon purple dimly lit the entire room. Raven felt a wave of joy spurk through her. All she could do now was dance. She waved her lightsaber around in a orderly fashion keeping in count with the music and her original steps of training. A strange combination, she thought. A mix of battle tactics and dancing. She could feel her face glowing with warmth. She felt so happy.

As she continued to dance, the Force started to warn her. Vader. His presence was lurking closely around. She didn't care. She wasn't going to let him ruin her fun. As she began to jump around more to the music, it began to soak her in too much. She was much too deep in tune to the music and the Force was fighting to keep her alert, that she had no recollection of where she was. She probably kicked several things in her room. She was sure one of those things was the droid, sitting parked off to the side. Whatever, if she broke it, she would be able to fix it later. But something strange started to happen. The senses of the Force started to morph together with the flow of the music. She started to see nothing but pitch black and the flowing esence of the Force around her. A sound was heard. It sounded dangerous. She turned to look and saw something long and thin flying at her. No multiple objects. The Force screamed at her that these were dangerous. But the music helped her not panic. Inside, the music started to guide her feet. She kept a steady dance and made simple gestures, dodging each of the objects that came flying at her. She twirled and danced, stepping her and there, watching the enemy fly by her. Wow, she thought. It felt like she was inside of a DDR machine. The flying objects eventually stopped and so did the music. And with that she came back around.

She stood again in the middle of the room. At first she heard nothing at all but, realized actually that her ears were ringing violently. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, waiting for it to end. Once it did, her hearing came around.

And the breathing from behind her was heard. Raven wheeled around to face her master, The Dark Lord. He stood there looking down, perfectly still. Raven breathed in calmly as she looked upon him with confusion.

"Master? What is it?" She asked curiously. She was pretty sure she had no more training today as she had finished it hours ago.

Vader continued to look upon her in silence. The thread of his emotions rippled off him. He was pleased about something... but what? Raven looked hard at his masked face. I know your smiling under there, she thought close minded to herself.

"Master" She dared to ask again.

"Raven." Vader spoke out loud. Then his mind read to their connection with the Force. "Were you dancing while training?"

Raven felt her stomach become uneasy. But he didn't sound angry.. "Yes, I was." Her thoughts moved to him in a quick jolt that they both felt.

There came silence. This assured her that he was thinking to himself now.

"Wonderful." He said with his voice.

Raven felt herself perk up. She was completely lost now. She didn't understand how Vader could find her mistake so amusing and good. Nervously she gnawed on her lower lip.

"It does seem rather strange.. but it works." He continued, nodding his head more to himself. "I understand.."

Raven could only stare up at him, waiting impatiently for him to fill her in on his thoughts that were supposivly so grand.

"Some how, and I'm unsure of the possiblility, you are stronger with the force when you have music to dance to." He paused, cocking his head slightly to one side. "As if the music is your second aide to guidece."

Raven blinked. She started to understand now. He was right, when she was listening to her music she felt aided, as if her body was being controlled by the beats and rythmns. As she thought on this, she noticed her droid in the corner was in a wreck. She gasped at it.

"Did.. I do that?"

Vader made a sound under his resperator, assuring her on her question. She stared. It all came together now. The lights that were flashing by when she was dancing were actually lasers from her droid. And she had replied by firing them right back. Wow.

Raven smiled, feeling quite happy with herself. She had discovered a way to make her more powerful. And it was all thanks to the beauty of her own music.

Vader turned to look at the droid, then back to his young apprentece. "I wonder... if it will aide you just as well in a duel."

Raven shot a glance back up at her master. The waves from the Force instantly told her what his plan was.

"Are you ready?" He asked, withdrawing his weapon.

"Yes." The glow of purple light extended.


	14. The Mechanic 4

This moment began to serge in her entire body. So overwhelming. Raven had already dueled her own master before, but this time was different. This time, she felt very nervous. But if he saw enough potential, then there was no way of declining. The Force could be felt pulsing around them in two complete different shades. Raven could sense him reaching out to her and feeding on her fear and stress.

Relax. She spoke to herself, trying to focus on the music. The next track of Scooter played in the background; the track Nessaja. Just a mix of techno beats and rhythums, no lyrics yet. Just keep focusing on it.

Vader had now extended his blade of red and held it up to her's. The blades cackled with a staticy noise as the brilliant red and purple rubbed against each other. Raven listened to the hissing of her lightsaber, along side the music. It encouraged her somehow and made her more alert and ready.

Just as Raven tried to feel out to sense her opponete's first move, there was a ripple in the Force that shot through her. Now, it yelled.

She moved her saber into a new position and with swift motion to block his first attack. Vader's strike was strong, which forced her to block more with balance then defense. This was one of the many disadvantages she had. Her physical strength and size could not come close to his. Vader struke again, this time from above. Raven thought to jump aside, but the force pushed her towards him. As she lunged forward she rolled past his strike and between his wide spread legs. She quickly jumped to her feet and turned to his back. She was about to strike him while he was open, when he made a back motion with his hand. The Force pushed her back enough and knocked her off her feet. This gave Vader time to turn around and face her while she recovered quickly, wasting no effort.

"Good." Vader told her, relaxing his blade but holding his stance. "Quick thinking on your part."

Raven nodded quickly to him. He remained in his position which gave her the clear to make the next move. The lyrics now of Scooter's song now played in the air:

"Always lived my life alone. Been searching for a place called home."

She darted toward him, making an upcut motion with her lightsaber. He encountered it with his blade angled against it. This left him open again, she thought. Why was he going so easy on her?

"I know that I have been cold as ice. Ignore the dreams, too many lies."

With that, she made a low spin on her heals and aimed for the center of his chest. He evaded with a step back and took another swing. The fast move startled her and she had no choice but to duck down out of the way.

"Somewhere deep inside... Somewhere deep inside me."

She then quickly returned to her feet. Vader made another high strike. This time, she jumped up into the air to avoid his attack. Now was the time to try the move she had been practicing for combat.

"I found... the child I use to be."

She twirled through the air above her master until she was directly above him. Just as she broke her spinning circle to strike, she felt the Force hit her in the chest. Vader's hand had came up just below her and the Force had thrown her up into the ceiling.

"And I know that its not too late..."

She grunted in pain when she hit the hard roof. Once the Force released her she recovered to attack again with a down cut of her blade.

"Never.. too late."

Vader raised his weapon and blocked. The weight of all her body coming down gave her enough power to push him back another two steps. Her feet gracefully landed her infront of him again and she returned to a defense pose. Vader nodded his head approvingly. "Impressive. But don't get too confident yet."

Now the beats of the song had intesified. Thick and heavy. Raven's heart was beating with it.

Vader made motion to come toward her again. Raven lunged forward to counter him. Their blades clashed over and over. Sparks flew and the blades hissed angrly. She began to think of a way to get his defense to lower. As she swung her blade around to block his strikes, she observed him. How he held his weapon and his position. Her eyes became keen on his center place of gravity. He had more defense up high than below. Once she found an open spot, she began to strike lower at his thighs and knees. Vader struggled to block her attacks, having to step back and recover. Raven smiled to herself; her plan was working. Now he was starting to retreat back. But just as she began to lock on another place to strike, Vader went for a high shot straight down. Raven's instincts took over and she jumped out of the way. She landed down on her back. She began to stir to stand up when Vader had her pinned down. He stood over her, his lightsaber pointed at her throat. She had lost.

Raven panted and looked away shamefully. Her master stepped back and sealed his weapon away, turning his back. "Your skills have gotten better." He assured her. "But you are still too confident in your abilities. The music does aide you a lot, but it alone won't be enough. You must learn to think of the outcome, plan a back up in case your next move fails."

Raven stood up and bowed to Vader. "Yes, master." Her voice was weak.

Scooter's voice now echoed with the music around them.

Vader turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Do not worry. It is a mistake I had when I was still learning. You will overcome that bad habit with practice."

Raven nodded to him and put her own blade away.

"In the mean time, I will have a new droid built for you to help you with that training; one with better reflects." He paused looking away from her to stare out the window. "Your next training will be first thing in the morning tomorrow." He had no more to say. He swiftly exitted her room.

Raven bowed to him once again and plopped herself on her bed once he was gone. With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes and started to day dream about London.


	15. The Mechanic 5

- 5 months later -

If she was still on Earth, she would have graduated from Tribbleton Highschool by now. She would be an official adult. An 18 year old, almost 19. Though, age didn't seem to matter much at this time. She had better news to look forward to.

Mech was almost complete. And Raven could not wait to put him online and running. He waited for her in the Mechanics room, getting last minute repairs and adjustments by Casco, Arlian, and the other crew members. As she was told, it was required that all new droids of any kind must be checked out to see if they were fit and secure for the station. But being Vader's Apprentiece, she was given it a little bit more easy.

She smiled to herself.

After months of training along side her new master, he had gained trust in her. He had given her new knowlegde to strengthen her mind and improve her combat. And with both, she would be able to finally leave the Death Star. Her new Jedi abilities with the lightsaber would help her get past any guards standing in her way, and her strong mind would be able mislead Darth Vader, making him think she was fully loyal to him. She frowned now, thinking to herself. She was loyal to him in some sence. The fact that she had a feeling for him. She swallowed. That feeling wasn't going to be enough to keep her a prisoner here. The Death Star was dark and gloomy, and she wished to see more of what was out there. Since she had seen the examples of the worlds waiting to venture to, she wanted to leave so badly. But Vader wouldn't let her. His grip on her leash was too tight. He trusted her fully, so long as she was still in his range. But he could not let her go away from the station. So, in order to be able to leave, she would have to chew through her leash.

Raven laid on her bed and stared at her ceiling, waiting for the droid to come by and tell her when Mech was ready and finished. She hummed an old familiar Gorillaz tune to herself. She laid dressed in her old purple hoodie that she still kept all these years and her black tripp pants. Even though she would be considered too old to dress this way, it comforted her to be in them again. It made her think of home. The simple summer days of walking across the bridge that connected her small town of Essex to London. Seeing all the exotic faces as she crossed. The punk teenagers, the mimes preforming, the old men selling roasted peanuts, the girls in high heels giggling to themselves, the mothers pushing their children around in strolers. She missed those simple memories of England.

There was a buzz noise that came from out side her door. Raven jumped up quickly and ran to open it. The service droid stood there and made a slight bow to her. "Hello, my lady. I am here to tell you that your droid is finished. It is waiting for you in the mechanics room to be activated."

"Oh joy!" Raven yelled out, running past the droid and nearly knocking it over. She was so excited. Finally, she would have another companion similar to her old friend Purple.

She rushed down the halls, flying by several guards and other co-workers. Once she had made it down the fimilar hallways, she came to a stop at the mechic room door. It opened when she came close enough to it. The first thing she saw was Casco smiling at her and standing next to Mech. He walked over to her, and gave her a warm hug. "Congratulations. Your droid is finished." Raven smiled up at him and then looked at her mechanical hound. He stood from the head a little shorter than she did and looked almost identical to Purple in the face structure. But everything about him was... better. He had more armor, more advanced dynamics to make him move swifter and silent, more weapons and an accurate targeting system, and then of course, her favorite feature. She had made him much larger for a reason. She had added a handle on his back so that she would be able to ride him and use him for combat. Her smile became large with excitement.

Aralin walked over to her and patted her on the back. "Nice work, m'dear. Here you are." He handed her a power chip. Raven took it and kneeled infront of her hound. She opened up the power capsule on his chest and inserted the chip through his slit. Then with a push of the boost button, his artifical cell started to hum with power. The eyes on the hound began to glow a brilliant red as his entire body began to function each part of him, checking for a positive feedback. Everyone in the room stood, watching with awe and waited. Once each part was checked and working well, Mech froze. He blinked several times and cocked his head. He began to scan the room with his eyes looking at each person. Raven stepped forward to him. Mech turned to her and looked her down well. His mouth open and he spoke. "Are you my creator?" Its voice still sounded very robotic but much clearer and suddel than Purple's. Raven nodded to him and smiled. "Name activation. Mech." She spoke clearly to him.

Mech blinked again and nodded his head. "Name excepted. Name: Mech." Raven grinned and patted Mech on the head. He was perfect.

Everyone started to clap as Casco stood next to Raven, squeezing her proudly. She hugged him back and smiled before she returned her gaze to her hound. Mech's eyes stared into hers. This hound, she thought, was my key to freedom.

Everyone of the other mechanics came over to Mech and began to pet him and admire his features as he sat there on his haunces, observing them all. Raven watched proudly, plotting her next move. For now, she needed to wait. She needed him to get use to his functions, the actions and behavior of man kind. Even though he was already programed with enough information to survive, he still was considered a young puppy; a life that has just come into the world. No information she could download into him would be enough compared to personal experience. In time, he will learn quickly. That is what his learning computer mind was there for.

"You are stressed." Mech said in a dreamy voice. "You must rest."

"I can't, Mech." Raven managed to gasp out. "I must complete my practice rep first."

Mech blinked once at her as he watched his master preform tricks and jumps with her lightsaber. Raven could feel his gaze on her as she swung and struke her invisible target. "Training." She heard Mech repeat. She knew he was talking more to himself than out loud. A smile revealed on her face. Her hound was observing and learning well.

It would only be a matter of time before he understood the ways and acts of a human being. Hopefully too much at once wouldn't overload him. Artifical intellegence or not, he was still a machine and with too much information at once, like all robot software, he would short sercete.

Raven had been aware of this in the process of building him. And thus, she had taken his main computer chip and tweeked it. By building somewhat of a memory filter in the drive, she made his mind able to absorb all new information that he would learn instantly, but his computer mind would process it slowly. This would help keep him from overload or over heating. Like a mail room. Everying thing gets put and delivered where it needed to be, but at a slow and precise pace. It would also help his poundering process. Since he would take in the thoughts of information slowly, he would think in detail on each thing. And hopefully, make him learn accurately.

As Raven preformed another jump move, she heard her hound speak up again. "What is it that you are practicing?" he asked her in his crystal clear metallic voice.

"I already told you." She replied, still somewhat out of breath.

There was a pause. "What kind of combat exactly?"

Raven stopped her training for a second to catch her breath again. She slumped over, breathing in deeply on the rich oxygen. Mech continued to watch her with his bright red eyes, waiting for a reply.

"I'm training to be a Jedi, Mech." She told him.

Mech was silent and still now. Raven waited for his mind to process it fully.

"You know what Jedi are, don't you?" She asked him, challenging his intellegence. She knew she had installed the Jedi information to him, but she wanted to know how much he could tell her, for the truth was, she barely knew much of the Jedi order. She only knew of the history that the Jedi were once warriors of peace and had died out under the control of the Empire. She also knew they were religiously connected to the Force and fought in old fashion technics. It was still hard to believe that this way of fighting was considered old. It was still way ahead of her time.

"The Jedi. The fallen warriors of the Force." Mech said. He had a look of puzzlement on his face as he thought to himself. "They were strict followers to the good side of the Force.." the way he spoke this, she could tell he wasn't too sure of what the Force was. But then again, most machines didn't know of its existance.

Raven nodded her head to him. "Do you understand my training now?"

To her surprise, he shook his head, still puzzled. She cocked her head to him. "Why not? What do you still not understand?"

Mech looked down, trying to find the right way to say his thought. "You are not training to be a Jedi."

Raven was taken to shock. "Wha'do you mean?"

Mech began to process more of his knowledge so that he could answer his master's question. But he then stood up and walked over to the door.

"The way you were training just now." he said as he walked, "Wasn't the way the Jedi trained."

Raven only stared at him in confusion. "I don't under-"

"Too much anger. Too much frustration." He said before she could finish.

She fell silent now. It didn't make sense. Vader had told her to use anger and frustration to help her achieve her goals, to become stronger in her technic. Was she not doing it right?

Mech turned his attention away from her and clicked the door switch with his nose. "Follow me. It would be easier to understand if I showed you."

Rave stood still for a moment, puzzling over this misconseption. She watched her hound exit the room and out into the hall.

Was there something he was not telling me? She shuddered.

She quickly moved her feet to catch up with her robotic companion.


	16. It's time to escape 1

Mech led her through many twisting and never ending hallways through the Death Star. At first she thought he was getting lost, but that couldn't be. Mech was also given the layout of the Death Star so that he could find everything in it, down to the smallest bolt screwed into a wall. He would need this information in order to help her escape.

At the end of a turn, Raven saw a huge arched doorway. The doorway led into a huge room full of books, files and computers. "A library." Raven said hushly. As the two of them walked in, they became surrounded by towering shelves of books in all sizes. She gasped at the sight. Even London didn't have such a huge collection of books. And to think in a futuristic world like this, they wouldn't use books anymore.

Mech started to scan the room in search of something. Once his head stopped towards a certain section of the library, he began to advance to the very back. Raven quickly followed, still exploring the sight of this large library. They came to a section of the library which was gated off from the rest, but not locked. Raven gestured to Mech if what they were looking for was in there. When he nodded his head to her, she reached for the switch to open the divider when a graggly voice shouted. "That area is restricted, young lady!"

She wheeled around to see an older looking man walking over to her.

From the looks of him, he didn't look to pleased to see her here.

"Even if its restricted, I should still be able to have access to it." She told him firmly.

The old man raised an eye brow, his angry expression starting to fade. "Really now?" He gave a small chuckle of amusement. "What makes you think that?"

"I am the right hand to Lord Vader." Raven answered him, folding her arms over her chest.

"Are you now?" The old man shook his head. "An apprentice. Well now, isn't that wonderful..." He turned his back to her, pretending to pounder her words to himself.

"You obviously don't believe me..." Raven said, her tone soundly a little irritated.

The man turned back to her and firmed his eyebrows. "Bah!" He grumbled. "I could care less who you are or your position of power or whatever.."

Raven stared hard at him, wondering where he was going with his babbling.

"Knowledge is the only important thing. If you know more, you are more powerful. Not by your position of rank." He glared down at her, but once he saw her look of puzzlement he chuckled again. "Pardon me, my dear. I couldn't resisting toying with you. You obviously never heard of me before, have you?"

She shook her head, still staring up at him with puzzlement. Mech began to growl impatiently at the man, but Raven placed her hand on his head to quiet him.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He said with a slight bow. "I'm Commander Atour Riten. I run this grand library here on the this god forsaken battle station." He said with irony in his tone.

Raven slightly nodded her head. "Yes, it is kind of odd to find such a big library in a place like this."

He grinned at her, looking her down a bit. "Say, that is a strange accent you have. What system are you from?"

Raven did not answer at first. "Probobly one you're not fimilar with."

He gave her a sarcastic look and laughed aloud. "Try me. After all, I am a librian."

Raven shook her head with confusion. "If you say your a Commander, than why do you run a library?" She asked, still trying to avoid his question.

Atour gave a sigh. "Oh, I am still apart of the millitary but the Empire doesn't wish me to work for them. They tried of years to get rid of me and out of their way. They say I think too independently and hurt the ways of the system. And they know I have a thing for knowledge so they stuffed me in here to watch after these books and data."

She only blinked at him, still unsure of why he gave up his commanding job to stay in here all day long.

"So about that system that your from.." He brought up again.

Raven sighed looking down a bit. "I was from planet Earth. You know the one?"

Atour nodded, giving a solum look now. "Oh yes. The planet that was scheduled for execution." Atour made a look in thought as he continuted. "You know, it was probably best. Your planet was so far behind us, you would have never caught up."

Raven shot him a nasty look. "Your saying it was good that all my people are now dead?"

Atour held his hand up to explain. "Well, to tell you the truth. If your human people are anything like us, you probably would have paniced if you all came to realize what we really were. That we were another race of human beings living on the opposite side of the galaxy through distance and time, you all probably would have a paranoia out break. The religious people would start questioning their beliefs or denying the truth, the politicial people would become afraid that we might try to overpower and inslave you, and the rest of the citizens would be stuck in panic of realizing that there might be a chance of death for them all. So... it is probably better that they all died quickly with no panic and drama..."

Raven still continued to leer at him. "Or you could have left us alone and not let us discover you exsist."

Atour shrugged. "That would have probably been the better choice. But then again, I don't make the decisions. The Emperor has his reasons for what had happen, even if they aren't always good."

Raven looked down, feeling the anger sweal and burn inside her. So selfish, she thought. Why would they do such a thing to their own specie? Sure, we were naive and weaker. But to go out of the way and kill them all? She closed her eyes for a second to control herself.

Atour watched her curiously. "What exactly are you searching for in there?" He jerked a thumb in the direction of the gated off section.

"My droid needed to find me something."

Atour gave her a skeptical look for recieving a short answer. "Well, I can't really stop you. If I don't let you in, you'll probably report me and even then, you'll still get to go inside. Might aswell save the trouble."

With that, he nodded to her and slunk off back into the jungle of bookcases.

Raven frowned at him. What a strange old man. She looked down to find Mech tugging gently on her sleeve, impatient to show her what ever it was.

The door opened with ease and the smell of old hard back books filled Raven's nose. Many of them looked ruined by mostire or dust but they all seemed to hold well in place. Mech walked over to one of the small shelves and touched a book with his nose.

"This one?" Raven asked, placing her finger on its spin.

Mech nodded, as she grasped the large book and pulled it out. This one looked like it had taken series damage as it had aged. Staines could be seen on several pages and the cover was wrinkled and smelled of something foul.

"What am I looking for?" Raven asked her hound.

"Page 124. Paragraph 2. Start there and read the whole page." He replied.

Raven flipped through the thick and yellowish brown pages of the book. There were a few illistrations of what she guessed to be very old and powerful Jedi. Some were just illistartions of the series of lightsabers they have used throughout the years. Once Raven found the page, she fingered her way down it until she found the second paragraph. She read it with full consitration.

The ways of the Jedi have been mislead by others that have come across these ancient warriors. Some misunderstand the way they use the Force and for what perposes. Jedi were thought to use the Force for their own good, e.i., to save the ones they loved, to prevent danger to their own kind, and to keep their territory protected. Most of which isn't true.

The Jedi are selfless warriors that fight for peace and harmony to the galaxy. All though the Jedi do use their power to protect, they do not do so for just ones they love. In fact, the Jedi train to disconnect themselves from others to prevent attachment, for attachment leads to greed; a path to the dark side of the force.

Raven stopped for a second to think about this. The dark side of the force... she knew little about it. Her master had mentioned it once. But she was unware that the Jedi try to avoid it. She continued reading.

The Jedi also train to bring away all emotion and keep only hope, as it is the most powerful path to the light side of the Force. Fear, Anger, Frustration; all are things that Jedi fought themselves against to prevent following the dark side. The dark side of the Force was a path that led to suffering and one of the main things the Jedi wished to prevent from consuming them.

Raven finished the page and set the book down. Her head was starting to hurt. "The dark side of the Force... the Jedi never follow it. And anger and frustration.. that is part of the dark side." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't understand.. then... why was he telling me to use my anger in my training. That's not how the Jedi are suppose to train."

Mech lifted his head up to his troubling master. "Prehaps, you are training to become something else."

She turned to him. "Something else?" She repeated. Mech nodded again and turned back to the book. He looked at it for a minute.

"Turn to the next chapter."

Raven carefully but quickly grabbed the corners of the pages and flipped through them into she found the next section.

"The Sith," Raven said, reading the chapter name aloud.

Mech nodded his head, looking back up to her. Raven remembered hearing this word before. That woman, Hollia, had mentioned she feared Vader would turn her into one. This began to worry her. Raven began to read the chapter.

The Sith; a similar breed of warriors like the Jedi. Although the two both have the same religious beliefs of the Force and train in similar techniques, the Sith are the opposite of the Jedi. While the Jedi fight for selfless causes and to bring balance for every living thing, the Sith fight for inner peace for only their kind. The Sith worked in small groups and would only be found in pairs of two. One was the master, the other, the enchman. Sith lords considered the Jedi swarn enemies, as they stand in the way to bring peace to their kind. It is unclear though if the Sith really are considered evil, but they are known to be much more self centered and use ways of the Dark side of the Force. This explains why so little of the Sith remains and why they travel in such small groups.

Raven couldn't read anymore. So it was a Sith. Her training was to become a Sith. It had to be. Vader was making her train using her anger for power which led to the Dark Side. It fit the descripition since the Sith used the ways of the Dark Side. Also with the Sith being in pairs of two; One Master and One Enchman or Apprentece, Vader was the Master and Raven was the Apprentece.

Raven tried her best to not slam her fist down with frustration. No, she told herself, anger is the wrong path. She breathed in calmly, trying to settle herself. She could hear Mech giving off an electronic whimper of concern.

"I sense your feeling of betrayal." He told her softly.

He was right. She did feel very much betrayed. Vader had lied to her, making her think all her work was for good. But what could she had expected? Since he wouldn't have been able to trust her in the end, karma lead back around to make her unable to give him any faith. Thus how it had always been.

Once her breathing returned to normal, Raven picked up the old book and slid it back into its rightful place on the shelf. She quickly spun on her heels and marched out of the room toward the library exit. Mech's metal feet titter-tattered swiftly behind her. Raven didn't bother to look back and acknowledge his company. She was feeling sick. So sick of this place. She was ready to escape. With all the truth laid out in front of her, there wasn't enough left here to hold her back from leaving. Not even her strange feelings.

She would leave tomorrow. For sure.


	17. It's time to escape 2

-Earth Date, March 7th, 2011-

People passed through the halls for several hours. Soon they would start to thin out as the day began to fade. Day; what did this station know of it.

Raven paced the same walk way several times, checking in on the crowd. The only people that were left roaming around were the troopers and station workers. Perfect.

She made hace and quickly returned to the site she left Mech. Down the end of a vaccant hall, Mech waited for her to give him the okay.

She came up and kneeled in front of him. "You know where to go?"

Mech swiftly nodded. "The lower level. Area B, Section 26."

"And how will you get there?"

"The long way. Instead of taking the halls and the elevator down and crossing the bridge, I will go through the air vent just above Section 25. I will come out of the pipe and into the interier part of the control room and make my way through the cables until I get just below the bridge."

"Your mission?"

"Damage the control to the tracking beam when no one is nearby. Once that is complete, quickly back track my steps and head toward the ship bay number 57."

Raven smiled. "Good. Alright, well it is time to get going."

With that, Mech nodded and quickly sprent down the hall, he made a sharp turn to the left, heading toward the air vent.

Raven began to walk towards ship bay 57, slowly and causually.

I got to make this look normal, she thought. Nothing to hide.

Just as she began, she felt a presence trying to reach out to her.

"Vader." She gasped. Of all times. She tightened her thoughts on something other than her plans to walk and continued down the hall. Her thoughts were now on her training techniques. Vividly going over in her head, the steps of each move she had learned this week, just as she was sure Vader was among her with the Force. If she kept a straight mind about this and just let her feet naturally guide her, she would be able to trick him into thinking she was back in her room, training.

His presence lingered for only a short while until, satisfied, it was gone. She didn't put her guard down though, as she still was sure he might come back on her any minute.

Just around the corner after several weaving of turns, she was about to reach the ship bay. Hopefully, Mech was at least close to the control for the tracker beam. She had to think what to do, to stall for more time and still look unsuspisious. When she reached the ship bay, she noticed only two guards remained. Both didn't look too serious about their post, from their causual stance and the constant chit-chat they were having. Just maybe, she thought. The idea was fresh, but she put it in the back of her thoughts just before she decided to act on it.

The guards silenced their conversation when they noticed she was approuching. The way their stance became more formal, ment that she had the advantage. These two troopers knew who she was and would work to for her plan.

"Good evening, boys." Raven said with a sassy smile.

"Uh, hello miss. How can we help you?" The one on the left asked.

"Oh, just wandering the halls, looking for any one to talk to. You know.." She tried her best to strut a little and show her best side off.

The storm troopers both nodded and the same one replied. "Yeah, that's understanable." From his tone, she could tell he was sort of struggling to keep a serious voice.

But the situation wasn't working as well as she wanted. Hoping, since they were men, they'd be distracted grately by her flirty attention. Looks like she misjudged them.

"I don't mean to keep you two from your job, but how long have you guys been guarding this post? It seems, from your voice, I've seen you around somewhere else." She was now just bullshitting her time.

She didn't really listen to his reply, but continued to smile and nodded. Instead she focused in on Mech with the Force. She could feel the pulsing of his large feet jumping across large pipes and climbing up parts of the wall to get across the large ditch below. He was close, hopefully he'd get over here quicker than what it took him to reach the control.

Once the Trooper finished talking, she gave him a large grin and nodded her head again. "Oh I see. Well I guess I will see you two around." With that she gave him a wink and turned around and slowly began to leave. Or so she wanted them to think. But before she could make it back to the door, an alarm went off. It was a full station alarm which alerted the intier Death Star that something was wrong. The instant she heard it, she knew it must have been caused by Mech. Was he spotted when disconnecting the tracker beam? Or prehaps that alarm went off when ever it stopped working. She could only hope for the best and not panic. But she could feel her heart starting to race out of her control. She over heard the troopers behind her. "What do you think that is? A practice drill?"

"No, I think something is wrong." The sound of their foot steps could be heard quickly catching up to her. She couldn't let them go and let them know she had been there in case Mech was caught. Her mind started racing for a solution. But just as the ideas went firing by, she heard a voice in her hear: "Your emotions are giving you away. What are you up to?"

Shit, she thought. Vader had come back to her mind. From what she had guessed, he had grown suspisous from the alarm.

Now it was too late for cover ups. If she wanted her plan of escape to be exicuted, she couldn't hold back.

Quickly, her hand grabbed tightly around the lightsabers handle around her waste. She pushed off with her feet and flung herself into a backward flip through the air, grabbing her weapon off of her belt in the process. Just as her feet landed, she sensed the guards already making a grab for their guns in defence. Sadly for them, she was too close. Her lightsaber extended and the neon purple blade sliced through both of there necks with a 360 swing. She hesitated in shock when she saw their bodies fall lifelessly to the ground and their heads rolling off their shoulders. It was painful, knowing that she had taking two lives with her training.

Taking her glance way from the troopers, she quickly scanned the room for a good vessel to snatch. All of them looked identically complex, making it hard to focus. She had never piloted a ship before, much less drive anything. Now she desprately needed Mech here.

As she was scanning around at the different ships, a camera caught her eye in the top left corner of the room, aiming right at her.

"Shit!" She yelled aloud. That camera had seen her kill those troopers. She was not safe standing there in the wide open. With instinct, she bolted toward the closest ship, which looked like one of the cargo delivery ships. She came up to its door and opened the control box next to it. Hitting multiple different codes, she finally got it to open. The door opened down too slowly, which made her climb up through it impatiently.

Once aboard, the whole ship was dark. She felt around on the walls, looking for a switch to help power up the lights. Her hand glided up on a lever that she pulled, kicking on the lighting power. So far, so good.

The intercom could be heard outside of the ship, "Alert! All troopers change course to Ship Bay 57. This is not a drill. Ship Bay 57."

Great, now they were heading this way.

"We have a tratior attempting escape! I repeat, we have a traitor attempting escape. All troops to Ship Bay 57!"

Raven quickly climbed up to the front of the ship and sat down in one of the driver seats. All the controls looked the same. She had no idea how to power up the engine. As a mechanic, it took time to figure these things out. But time was the last thing she had at this point.

"C'mon, Mech! Where the hell are you?"

Just then, weapon fire was heard close by. She peared out of the windows of the ship and saw Mech running into the Ship Bay, turning slightly to fire at enemies coming in. The cross fire of Mech's neon blue plasma shots and the red blaster fire caused her ears to ring and a dazzle to her eyes. Her heart was beating fast. They were closing in. She heard Mech clamering his way up the ramp of the ship. "Seal the exit!" She screamed over her shoulder to him. Mech came to an imadiate halt and pulled out his cords to override the controls for the door. Once he took care of that he quickly joined Raven's side and sat up in the other seat next to her. "Can you pilot this ship?" She asked him with panic.

Mech's bright red eyes scanned the enter controls and radar pads. "Yes." He said simply. With out hesitation, Mech let out dozens of his cords and plugged himself into the ships computer. A look of consitration came upon him as the whole ship rumbled to a start. Raven smiled proudly at her robotic hound, but was startled when the ship rocked and shook. Out the window, the troopers were surrounding the ship, trying to open the ship door and firing at the ship's outer layer.

"Put on the ships shield!"

Mech nodded. A wave of static entered the atmosphere around them. The shield came up and pushed the troopers back, wipping them off their feet.

Raven bit down hard on her lower lip as she began to sweat. Mech was having trouble getting the computer to auto pilot and make a quick exit.

The intercom was still buzzing. "Someone stop her!"

She closed her eyes for a second, breathing harshly. This could be it, if they didn't get out of here, they were both dead.

"The ship's generator is an old model. I'm having trouble getting it to function right." Mech told Raven, explaining the delay.

"Shiiiit..." Raven was sweating badly. The troopers were now back on their feet and firing again at the ship. If they don't get out now, the ship will be damaged too much to fly.

"Mech! Give the ship a jolt, maybe that will kick the engines into gear."

"But that might cause them to overhe-"

"I know! Just do it!"

Mech opened his jaw and an electric plug came out. He plugged it into the computers drive that connected to the engine. The whole ships power went off for a second but came back on. The engine came up with a loud roar. "It worked!" Raven shouted happily. Lucky guess, on her part.

Mech started hitting control coordinates on the navigation map as the ship began to hoover up.

Raven glanced back out the window, smiling widely. She couldn't help, but give the troopers a taunt; the fact that she had escaped from their cluthed hands. But just as her focus came on the floor below, her eyes were drawn to a black figure in the doorway. Quickly walking into the room and turning his attention to the ship that was taking off, was Vader.

Raven's smile faded. Both Vader and Raven's attention locked and time felt still. She could feel his waves of anger feeding to her through the Force. There was no surprised that he was mad. But there was something else. Something else that pulled on Raven's insides, making her regrate this escape plan. A feeling of pain. It was faint but could be felt pulsing off of Vader's body. It began to hurt her on the inside. Maybe that was his plan.

Raven quickly looked away, just as the ships engine kicked into full gear and launched them toward the air lock. The door behind them closed, sealing the rest of the station away. Another door opened, and the empty of space was set before them.

"Now the difficult part." Raven told Mech. Mech nodded.

Just a few second of being in open space, several TIE fighters swarmed on them, firing their gun lasers. Mech began to hit other controls.

"Drive the ship while I get it ready for a jump to hyperspace." Mech instructed.

Raven grabbed ahold of the wheel and began to weave the ship up down, left, right, anything she could to keep the fighter's shots off of them.

She could only avoid so little, the pilots that were chasing them were talented and fast. She wouldn't be surprised if she knew one of them. How awful it must be for them now to have thought of her once an great allie, now to suddenly make her an enemy they had to take out.

Raven tried her best to focus on keeping the ship safe from weapon fire, but her thoughts kept harming her. She couldn't shake the awful vibes Vader had sent out to her. Even though she was almost sure those were a trick to make her hesitate and keep her from escaping in time, she had a little doubt. What if those vibes were real and he meant them. It was strange to think about, but she couldn't help but wonder.

The TIE fighters continued to shoot and hammer down on the ships shield, causing it to shake violently.

"Please hurry with the jump, Mech," Raven pleaded. "I don't know how long I can keep them off our backs."

"38...25...16...7 percent." Mech mumbled outload as he counted down the loading process for the hyperdrive. "5...3... ... complete. We are now engaging a lightspeed jump."

With that, Mech pulled a lever on the control pannel and the ship engine gve a load groan as it began to start on a jump.

The sinsation was incredible. Raven could feel the demsions around her bending and stretching out, as did the ship horizontally. Time seemed to slow way down for a second and then the ship took off. The stars around them became white blurs and the force of the ship's speed pulled her back harshly in the driver's seat. They had completely escaped the Death Star. No more TIE fighters firing at them, no more lock downs, no more depressing Sith training, no more Vader and his manipulation.

The cargo ship flew through the galaxy at lightspeed, quickly approuching the destinated star system and Raven's begining to another new life.


	18. New Breath of air 1

Light speed went by. Time was still in space.

Raven could barely feel her limbs, that were locked and gripping the controls to the ship. Amazing. Never did she think light speed would be so intriguing.

"We are now in the Ryloth System. The home planet of the Twi'leks. " Mech told his master, taking control of the ships steering.

Raven could see the planet coming into view. It looks very similar to Earth only there was less continents and more ocean, which was a deeper green than blue. Half the planet was completely lit up while it seemed the other half was in darkness. Raven looked at it peculiarly. "Give me some more information on it, Mech."

"The planet Ryloth consists of the continents called Haxiang, Dengdian, Lienru and Tienhu. There are only two recorded oceans, which are the North Ocean and the South Ocean. This planet has only two seasons, winter and summer and the climates can be very severe."

"What makes half the planet so dark?"

"This planet is a tidally locked planet. The dark side never faces the sun so it is always dark and cold. That half is called the Nightlands. The brighter side is the Brightlands. Both sides have harsh living conditions so all the urban settlements are on the ring between both sides. This is called a twilight band."

"So is that where we are going to find civilization?"

"Yes."

Raven nodded. "Well then, let's go ahead and-"

The ship suddenly shook violently as laser fire skimmed the top. Raven recovered from the shock and looked around out the front window. "What was that?"

Mech quickly looked at the scanner. "TIE Fighters. They're behind us."

"Shit! Did they follow us here?"

"No... these are patrolling TIEs. They must have been given information about our escape from the Death Star. If they are here, there must be a Star Destroyer close by." Mech told her.

Raven's heart shot up. There's no way they would survive against a Star Destroyer. The Empire had them surrounded here.

"We can't stay here, its too dangerous! Augh!" Raven fell out of her seat when another attack hit the side of the ship. She quickly got back up next to Mech.

"Is there another system nearby that doesn't have the Empire crawling all over it?"

"Hm, keep us clear from harm, I will make a quick scan for one."

Raven grabbed hold of the controls and, once again, did her best to fly the ship to avoid any more hits. These TIE fighters weren't as skilled as the ones from the Death Star, it was easier to dodge them.

Mech quickly hooked his cables to the navigation on the computer and began to punch in coordinates. "Found one."

"Where to?" Raven asked, still watching for more TIE fighters.

"The Binary Star system, just on the edge of this system. Its filled with thugs and dangerous outskirts, but its safer from the Empire. Fly us a bit farther way from the planet so we can make another jump."

Raven turned the ship fully around, just to see two TIE fighters fly over head.

"37 percent... 25... 16... 9...2.. done. Here we go."

The stars began to bend around them once more as the hyperdrive engine kicked in. Light speed again.

This jump seemed to be much faster than the last one. Mech wasn't kidding on how close it was. As the time began to return to normal, Raven could see the ship flying toward a small orange planet and two suns. She stared at it. So small, it could have been the size of Earth's moon.

"That is Tatooine. And the twin suns, Tatoo I and Tatoo II."

Raven made a frown as she observed its lack of colors. "Doesn't look like it has much water..."

"It's surface water is only 1%" Mech assured her.

A desert planet. It was going to be different for her, especially since she was only use to the cold climates of England, Michigan, and the vacuums of space. It was worth it if it meant staying clear from the Empire.

As the ship made its way through the orbit, large smoky clouds of brown began to pass them by. Soon after, ground came into view and just below about several feet down, a town could be seen.

"Mos Espa. It is a well protected city from the planet's climates. Its not as big as another called Anchorhead, but here, we are more likely to stay clear of unwanted attention from the Empire."

The town began to grow larger as the ship came closer to the planet's surface. The orangey brown city didn't appeal much but Raven was sure this would be a good spot to lay low.

"There is a ship dock," Raven pointed out to Mech. The ship made a harsh stop just above it, hovering, and slowly descended into the large opening of the building. The ship barely fit, due to its type being a cargo carrier which was a very large model.

A thought instantly struck Raven. This ship belonged to the Empire in record. That, addition to it being so large, it would stick out. She needed to get rid of it.

"Mech." Raven said, still staring out the window of the ship.

Her robotic hound turned its head to its master.

"We need to sell this ship and get it off our hands and away from here." She told her companion.

Mech remained silent, thinking over her words. He then nodded, understanding her concern. "That shouldn't be too hard to do," he assured her. "Tatooine is known for the trade centers around here. I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the docking port would be willing to buy it off of us."

"How much would a ship this size and type cost usually?" she asked.

"Quite a lot. This ship has Empire license to go into certain coded areas and has good cargo space. It could be a great ship for smugglers. I'd say a good 500,000 credits at least."

Raven was still a bit confused about the ways of money in this world. Credits... they weren't anywhere near the same value of pounds or dollars. Mech would have to teach her the value of this economic system.

Raven looked about the ship's cargo that was already loaded on. Not much. A few boxes that looked to be filled with weapons and ammunition. It might be dangerous to sell such things, even on such a rough planet. But she would need as much money as she could get in order to stay alive.

Raven also looked to her Mechanical hound. Another idea had struck her; Mech was a rare robot that she had built. No one would know what he was. And by his size and how different he was, he'd draw a lot of attention to them. Raven frowned. How could she hide him among the other droids?

Mech seemed to notice his master's pounders and asked, "What is it?"

"I'm thinking we need to find a way to camouflage you to make you look less obvious." Raven told him, still holding a thoughtful look.

As she looked about the room, her hound suggested, "Perhaps you can transport my computer drive to another droid and disassemble my body for now? At least until we have established a base or hideaway of some sort."

Raven slowly nodded as she thought this through. But as from the looks of it, there was no droid aboard this ship. She would have to buy one, but for now, she'd have to sneak mech as best as possible. She got up and walked over to the boxes laying about in the ship. She found a tarp that had been neatly folded under one of the shipping boxes. She snatched it up eagerly and unfolded it out to see its size. Perfect.

"Mech, until we find a droid body to host you to, you'll need to wear this."

Mech started harshly at the tarp his master held before him. From the looks of his silence, Raven could tell he didn't like this idea.

"I know it will look ridiculous, but we need to avoid all possible attention."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. I just don't see how a big walking hound like me is still not going to get attention even with a simple tarp thrown over me."

Raven though about that. "True... but what if you were... a walking box with a tarp over it?"

"A what?" Mech's blank mechanical face showed his computer didn't interpret his master's idea.

"If we use all these boxes to put together a flat surface that you hold up above you, the tarp will drape down and look more box like. So you'll just look like box with legs. You could be my work in progress droid for 'portable luggage'."

"I believe they already made something like that, master."

"Oh, well, you could be just my personal project. I'm a mechanic after all. I just couldn't afford to buy a real good one." Raven said with a smirk.

"If that's what you wish to go with." Mech said bowing his head slightly, as he agreed with her plan.

Raven and Mech then proceeded to pull supplies out of the boxes. Raven then unscrewed all the bolts in each and began to put each surface flat together to make one large square.

"All right, Mech, time to weld it together. Hand me you're paw."

The door to the ship opened to the outside, a gust of hot air rolled in. Raven's boots clanged down the stair ramp as she processed to exit the vessel. Her eyes became blinded by the light that hit her unexpectedly.

"Whoa.." She gasped. It had been almost a year since she had be outdoors and away from in closed space.

As she looked around the port, the old walls that surrounded the ship where rusted and damaged looking. Orangey rocks and sand covered the floor. Above head, two suns shone brilliantly above and cast intense waves of heat. This planet was definitely like a desert.

"C'mon, Mech, I'm going to need you to help me sell this ship."

Mech carefully and clumsily walked down the ramp after his master, under the tarp. Just as Raven had in mind, Mech looked like a large box with odd feet.

"I'm having trouble seeing through this." Mech said in a hush voice to Raven.

"You'll be fine. It looks to be all flat surface from here. Just listen for people and try to stay right behind me." Raven whispered.

Raven turned to the side of the ship, hit some buttons on the pad outside the door, and the ramp sealed back up.

"Now, Mech, where do you suppose I can find someone who will want to buy this ship?"

"Well, it sounds like you've already got some interested watchers to your left." Mech growled.

Raven whipped her head around to one of the open doorways that led out. Two scaled humanoid looking creatures stood next to each other, whispering and gesturing to the ship. They looked rough and dangerous. But two of them shouldn't be a problem for me, Raven thought.

"What are they saying?" She asked her hound nonchalantly, trying to make it look less obvious she was speaking with someone.

"Hard to tell. They're using slang terms. But one of them complemented the ships size and told the other that 'he could use a ship like that for the next trade.'"

Raven smiled. "Good, well hopefully, they can cough up a good price if they want it. Follow me." with that Raven began to walk over to them confidently. Both the creatures immediately quieted down, giving her a warning leer. She only smiled back in return.

"Pardon me, do either of you speak human?" She asked them.

They both glanced at each other for a second. Then the smaller looking one nodded to her. "A bit."

"I couldn't help but notice you both had interest in my ship. Would you like to buy it off me?"

The small one hissed lowly. "Why do you want to sell it?"

Hmm.. smart little devils, Raven thought in the back of her head. "Well, after snagging it and flying with it for a good year, I just got bored of it. Plus, I'm needing to meet up and move in with an old friend of mine. He's got a much nicer ship, but I need some money right now until then. What do you say?"

The small one was silent for a minute. "Give you 300,000 credit."

Raven shook her head immediately. "Oh, friend, that's a bit too small amount for a good ship like this. See, it's got Imperial license to go pretty much anywhere in the galaxy. That's a good deal for anyone. So how about you give me more around say.. 500,000 credits?"

The bigger one roughly gripped the other one's shoulder and growled at him. The smaller one growled back. The two exchanged conversation for a bit, before the small one finally turned back. "400,000 credits."

Raven scowled. Well, can't push luck too much. "Deal."

"We take you to our stash of credits." The smaller one offered.

Raven smirked. She's heard that trick before. Seems that thieves came in the same form even on a different planet.

"How about I wait here with my ship, and you bring it to me?"

The small one was silent again, but then nodded. "Met back just before sun down. Don't sell to anyone else."

"You better hurry then. Someone might offer a higher price." Raven threatened. "I'll be inside the ship when you return. Just bag on the door when you arrive."

The creatures gave another low hiss and snuck off through the narrow passage away. Raven then turned back to Mech. "Looks like we have luck on our side for the time being. Let's just hope they return so we can make our way into hiding soon."

Raven turned back to the ship and opened it up again.

"There is a chance they will bail out on you. You know that, right?" Mech said before he climbed back into the ship.

"Yeah.. I know. But we just gotta hope for the best right now."


	19. New Breath of air 2

(*AN: Vader's Perception is written by my boyfriend, Saucy Wiggles. Credit for that half of this chapter goes to him.)

...A whisper of breath in an otherwise silent hallway. The clang of boots on durasteel floors echoes down and out into bay fifty-seven. He sensed her, his young padawan, and her emotions recklessly spiraling out of control. She had been hiding something, he had felt it, but she was blocking him out. Then the alarm sounded.

The Klaxon fired it's hellstorm of sound into the Death Star, and Vader knew what she had done. Her senses flared rapidly, and he detected her presence. Bay 57, as he had predicted. She was there.

Above him, in the ventilation shaft, he could hear the metal clang of claws on steel- heading for the bay. On the other side of a durasteel aperture, the sound of an engine roaring to life and blaster fire bombarded his senses.

Reaching forward with the Force, he opened the door, taking another forced breath through the ventilator in his throat.

As the aperture slid open, a static pop flushed outwards from the freighter, knocking a dozen troopers off their feet. Vader's vision met with Raven's- a chasm of troopers and a sheet of plate glass seperated them, but he could still feel her senses connecting with his own, and he froze in place. Slowly, the ship lifted upwards and pressed forward from the bay, through the plasma fields, and out of the Death Star. Vader's locked joints loosened, and he turned to the nearest officer, beckoning the man towards him. Approaching in his ivory command uniform, Admiral Yularen approached Vader cautiously.

Closing his fist and sending a path of electrical fury from his pneumatic joints into the cybernetics within his spine, he commands the Admiral, "Find her. Find her and bring her to _me_."

Mere minutes later, the man in black was readying his Lambda-class transport to the _Phoenix, _a Star Destroyer stationed near the fueling depot on Ryloth. He knew the girl didn't know where to go, but the Death Star's current orbit around Lamaredd meant that she probably had just enough fuel and energy to make it to the nearest system.

In an immersive tunnel of time and light, Vader was alone with his thoughts. He stared upon the hypnotic kalaeidoscope before him, and bathed in his rage.

Reaching out with an iron grip into the force, he felt the girl, and gripped down on her heart, casting off his burning anger to another poor soul- but her thoughts fought back, and she found her way into his mind...

_NO!_

_Thwack! _ The metallic walls around him spotted with dents and bent horrifically as the Force lashed out against the girl, smothering his thoughts from her and racing across space for vengeance.

_You hurt her. _

He could feel the heartache- the girl was in pain, and his own rage had caused it... Quickly, he smothered the Force, the girl, and brought himself back to the transport.

As he reeled back into himself, the guards left his quarters. They knew enough of Vader to leave when the walls destroyed themselves.

Laying his leather-clad fist on the holo-comms' receiver, he prepared a message to the _Phoenix_, to prepare for his arrival. Swiftly, they would track down and capture his apprentice.

...

There was a low humming noise rumbling through the ship as it lay in the port on standby. Something about this soft humming, aside with the easy vibration that accompanied it, was very comforting. Raven sat in one of the front seats, reclined back a bit so she could rest. Mech sat next to his master, his red eyes fixed on scanning the area outside of the ship. Last Raven remembered before she dozed off, he was sitting in a crouched position, slightly leaning forward, with his ears perked up. He had his attention worriedly set on the two doors in front of them. It made her feel a bit unsettled that her hound was worried about this place. It must be very dangerous, more than she had assumed.

As Raven laid back in her seat, her eyes rolled back into her skull, the Force was feeding on her surrounding aura. She could see the white light slowly circling around her body, almost like a fish circling about in a water stream. She grinned at the Force, thanking it for its company and its strength it was providing her. With out it, she wouldn't have made it this far.

As she continued to watch the Force's energy circle around her, she noticed a long line of light that connected to it. In the distance from it, the line broke off into many different lines that scattered in multiple directions.

It was just how she had imagined it when Darth Vader had explained the connection of the Force. Just like a cell phone network, back home. The different cable looking lines that branched out must be her senses picking up other beings on this planet that had a strong pull of the Force, like her.

There were so many though, how could that be? There was a chance that someone was strong in the Force, but had no recollection of it- Just how she was unaware of her connection in the very beginning of her training. It made her wonder if all these people whose sense with the Force could also become strong warriors like herself and Vader. Or perhaps the Force aided them in other areas of strength...

The sound of Mech's low growl disturbed her focus and she came back to reality. Her eyes opened and she tipped her head over into her dog's direction.

"They're back. And they have a third companion with them." Mech warned her.

Raven sat up slowly in her seat and looked out the front window. The two lizard looking humanoids from before were walking in towards the ship, growling at one another. A third, and much larger lizard was following them closely. The way this third one glared up into the ship at her through the plate of glass was very intimidating. Bad vibes were firing through her entire body.

"Mech.." Raven began. "I have a feeling this deal is going to get rough. I need you to keep your laser ready in case this gets bad."

"Yes." Mech replied with a snarl. Mech's eyes didn't leave that third lizard. His red eyes glowed like a brilliant wildfire.

"Get back under the sheet and box, before they get a good look at you." Raven ordered.

Mech quickly hopped down off the seat and padded his way into the back of the ship, gathering his disguise. Raven sat up slowly and gave one last pause to look out the window as the lizards approached the door of her ship. She then followed her hound's steps and waited for their signal to open up the ramp.

When the rapping at the door was sounded, Raven gestured Mech to the door. With a quick stroke, Mech overrode the door with his cables, and quickly stashed them back under the tarp. Raven stood proudly in the doorway, watching as the ramp went down and looking to meet these shady looking traders face to face once again.

The ramp hit the sandy floor and the lizards stood side by side away from the door, staring up into the cargo freighter.

"Hello, gentlemen." Raven said with a cunning smile. "Do you have my credits?"

"Yes." The small lizard replied. He nodded to the other next to him. Raven noticed he was tightly gripping a case. He set it down and began to pick at locks on the sides. Once the case popped open, he turned the mouth of the case in Raven's direction to show her. The credits lay in what looked like thick bills stacked neatly on top of each other. Raven made a slight frown. Great, she thought. How was she supposed to tell if it was real currency or not? She'd never seen credits before. And she didn't know the worth of each bill.

The lizards did not budge; they stood their ground outside the ship, waiting for Raven to retrieve her pay. Should I stay on defense in my ship? Or should I step out and give myself space in case a fight is necessary, she thought. With one foot in front of the other, Raven slowly descended down the ramp and stood in front of the case of credits. She observed the amount of credits thoroughly, trying to look like she was counting the amount in her head.

"Alright, boys, this looks good to me. Thank you for your business." Raven reached to pick up the case, when a large reptilian foot came down on it and sealed away the credits from her grasp. Raven quickly looked up to see the larger lizard snarling down at her. In his hands, he held a large dagger, with several points sticking out of it. Raven glared back up at him. Just as she thought, this was going to get ugly.

"Traveling alone out here not smart." The smaller lizard chuckled at her. "Shame a pretty thing like you won't make it to see her friend."

"Is that what you think?" Raven said coldly. She felt her hand slowly ease up onto her belt.

All the lizards hissed and chuckled at her. "You out numbered."

Out numbered? Obviously... but- A sound came from behind her; Raven flashed her eyes to get a glimpse. Four more of those lizards had crawled over the wall and were slowly descending down. Raven looked back to the ones in front of her. Her fingertips met with her light saber's handle. But just before she could grip it tight, the larger lizard made an angry roar and swung at her with his dagger. Raven jumped and rolled to the side, just missing her side in an inch. She pulled her weapon off her belt and extended the glowing blade. She held it in defense as the lizards began to advance on her. Carefully, her eyes washed over them all. She held her pose strong and ready. Once the next lizard made another attempt to strike, she was a step ahead. As the middle sized one lunged low for her thighs, she swung her blade around in a full circle vertically, slicing through his left shoulder and right forearm, dismembering them and leaving him to fall to the ground in a bloody cry of pain. The bigger lizard charged at her while she circled her blade back around. She expected this, and quickly dived below his charge and rammed her saber upward into his chest. Taking her foot, she shoved his body off her blade, and turned to attack the last of the original three. Just as she locked her aim on him, she saw his hand quickly grabbing for a gun at his side. He was too far away from him, she'd never be able to reach him before he pulled it out and fired. She had to call on her robotic hound and go into defense.

"Mech!" Raven screamed out at the ship.

The small lizard took his blaster and started unloading fires of lasers on her. Raven blocked a few with her light saber and jumped away from the rest.

Raven's senses where screaming at her as the Force began to pull on her back. She knew the other four lizards where coming her way, but if she looked away from the laser fire to try and stop them from attacking, she may loose focus and the laser would hit her. She could feel her heart rating come up. Her lips opened and she was about to yell out for her hound again, when a large blue flare shot through the small lizard's head. The brilliant light twirled gracefully and drilled right through the creature's left eye, spiraling him down to the ground in an instant, and leaving a bloody hole to gape and run out in his skull.

A gasp escaped Raven's lips. She had already see two storm troopers die before, but this.. this was more. This lizard didn't have a mask on. She could see the life sucking out in mere seconds as the soulless body fell and rolled in the sand, with the blood flowing slowly away from the gaping wound in his head. It was all too real for her in this moment.

Just as two to three more blue rays shot over her head to hit the enemies hot on her tail, she only stood there, looking straight down at her feet. She eyed the purple light saber's blade, still extended and resting at her side. This was being in shock, and she knew it. But she had to remain calm. The Force was still strong in her emotions, and if she were to rash with them, for all she knew, Vader might be able to sense her light years away. She couldn't risk ruining all of her plans of freedom just on this moment. She just kept reminding her self; She and Mech didn't murder him. He was going to kill us anyway. It was all self-defense. But the tears came to her eyes anyway. She had taken lives away. And it was all due to her work and her training. This was something she would need to get used to.

Mech came trotting over to his master after he had made sure no one else was around. He sat down next to her, studied her face for a moment, and rested his cold, metal chin on her shoulder. "You will be ok. " He told her.

She slowly nodded her head. Mech was right. She was ok. And there was work to be done.

Raven pat Mech on the head. "Good boy." She told him. She stood up and walked over to the lizard whose arms she had dissembled. He only laid in the hot sand, his mouth gaping and his eyes wide and fully dilated in hypovolemic shock. She knew he would die soon to blood loss. She turned back to her robotic hound.

"We still need to get the ship out of here. And I have an idea."

Raven explained to Mech a story she wanted to log into the ship.

These two lizards were smugglers. They had both gotten involved in a fight over shipment with other dealers and got themselves severally injured. The one with the hole in his chest managed to set the ship to auto pilot and attempted to make it back here, hoping to meet up with their gang, but died before they could make it back. His friend, who lost both arms, also died shortly after his friend from loss of blood. The ship now was left with no driver, owner and a very small amount of gas.

This was set into the ship's memory computer, and overrode Raven's escape from the Death Star. Mech and Raven took the two bodies, and placed the larger lizard in the driver's seat and the other laying down in the back with the cargo.

"You think that looks convincing enough?" Raven asked her hound.

Mech nodded.

"And you're sure someone will just come by and take the ship away from here?" Raven asked.

"Definitely. A ship this size, with its former owners dead, will be snatched up very fast. We just need to make sure we get out of here before too many people notice." Mech explained.

"Yeah, well, there's no way no one heard that past fight, but that's why we kept the other bodies out there. It'll look like they also came by and wanted the ship, but probably fought and killed themselves over it."

Mech nodded again. "I don't think it will matter to anyone. This planet is so rough, people are use to gang and thug violence everywhere."

Raven went into the back of the ship, where she had divided all the important equipment into two single boxes. She also pulled out the credits and had Mech count through it all. Sadly, there was only 350,000 credits total in the case. But it was better than nothing.

"Alright, Mech. Dusk is at hand. We need to get out of here and find a place to stay for the night. In the morning, we need to find a store to sell some of these parts and buy some food and water."

Water. This was going to be her scares desire while living out on this hot planet. She was not going to like it, but it was the safest place to be for a while. Once time moved by, she could look for a more decent planet to move on to.

Mech covered himself again in the tarp and square lid, looking like the walking box again. He also took a few of his cords and held the two boxes of equipment on his back for Raven, as she took the case of their currency. The two slipped out into the evening, crossing through the ship port and walking through the sandy town, never looking back to the cargo ship. It would be the last time they ever laid eyes on that vessel again.


	20. New Breath of air 3

He had flown everywhere. Through thick clouds, above the sea, around the mountains. He had flown over his mother country, and over Scotland and Great Britain. Even over Russia and several bits of Asia.

But never the stars.

Earth had been gone for several months. Perhaps even a year? He couldn't recall.

Once all the survivors had been observed by the mysterious man in black, they had been asked of their skills from Earth. He was a pilot. Had flown several times during war, and in his seaplane on the farm.

So they put him in training to fly a TIE. At first, he imagined a vessel similar to a plane, not a space craft.

It didn't take long to catch on, but the training was brutal. Drills ran every day from wake up til their so called 'evening'.

One day it went from drill to emergancy call.

"_Alert! All troopers change course to Ship Bay 57. This is not a drill. Ship Bay 57_."

He turned his head to the man next to him, during their push up exersize.

"Wot's going on?"

"A break in? I dunno, who cares. It's not our concern unless they call for us."

"_We have a tratior attempting escape! I repeat, we have a traitor attempting escape. All troops to Ship Bay 57!_"

"Oh dear.."

The other man sighed and got up. "Well, alright, that means we need to get ready."

Just like in a drill. Dash. Jump into the cock pit. Strap in. Lower and seal front entrance. Power up engine. But this time, they won't be turning it off. This was real.

"All TIE units, prepare to launch."

He heard his comrade on the other line. "Jack, can you hear me?"

"Aye, hear you loud n' clear."

"Good, keep your radio on and listen for orders. This shouldn't be a big deal. Just follow everyone else."

"Aye, I gotcha."

Closing the hatch, Jack reaches to the chin of his mask and flicks a valve, listening to the slight pop-hiss of the oxygen regulating its flow to his mask.

As the plasma shields dimmed slightly, the TIE within the bay lifted mere meters off the ground, resembling the vast fields of cat-tailed grass back home.

_If you shoot down one, a thousand more will take its place._

As he followed number 22 closely, he could see the stars pouring in around him as they flew out of the Death Star. Jack was amazed at the sight. A breathtaking view he would have never seen back home.

The TIEs made a sharp turn around the space station, heading to their destination. "The enemy ship will be coming out of Bay 57. Be ready to open fire if it resists."

Jack flew his ship in line with the rest of the crew and waited. They all were anxious to fight this traitor.

"What do we know about the ship?"

"I dunno, Jack."

"New Orders, do not destroy target, if it resists. I repeat, do not destroy. We have Lord Vader's apprentice trying to make a run away. Fire only disabling rounds, repeat, only disabling rounds."

"Vader's apprentice?"

"Yeah, a young girl. I think she's from your planet, too."

Jack was silent. He had no idea who this girl was. But she was running from Vader's grasp. She must not be all bad. He also didn't like the idea of attacking on of his own people, who ever she was.

The door to Bay 57 suddenly opened, and a cargo ship came flying out. In an instant, the fighters swarmed on her. Jack followed close to his comrades, and evaded shooting at the girl as much as possible.

He found himself curious; who was she? And how did she work her way up to becoming Vader's right hand so quickly?

He observed the ship as it swerved violently away from the range of fire. The ship only got skimed with lasers instead of a direct hit. Not bad, he thought.

"C'mon, everyone! She's attempting to make a jump!"

Jack smirked. Good, he thought. At least she's making an effort to get away and live her own life.

The engines to the cargo ship, began to glow a brilliant light blue. It was charging its hyperdrive for a jump.

At that moment, Jack felt a selfish desire. He wanted to stun her ship, wanted to bring her back and learn who she was. Someone else from Earth he may be able to relate to. But why would she want to have anything to do with him if he held her back? His TIE lined up perfectly to the rear of the ship's hyperdrive. He didn't have any time left to decide.

"Jack, take the damn shot! What are you waiting for?"

Startled, Jack slammed on his controls and hit a few rounds at the cargo ship. But it was too late. The dimensions around her vessel bent horizontally and escaped into a jump before his fire could hit.

Jack stared after her, into deep, empty space. _Well, farwell, lassie. Good luck out there._

Jack twisted the yaw to the left and felt the fragile craft shudder under his grasp, the screech that inspired fear in rebellion - merely a string of ions firing from the rear of his craft. The cry of the ship's lust for lost blood lifted the guilt from his shoulders. It would bother him that he wouldn't get to know this girl, but at least she was free. At least he gave her a chance to find a new home.

...

Mos Espa; the city that appeared like a twisting snake. This place was full of small adobe settlements and shops. But as they traveled on through the night, everything seemed locked up and sealed shut.

Everything seemed hopeless. The sun was slowly peaking out from under the horizon and dimly lighting the small streets and narrow allies. Raven was just about to give up, exhausted and tired from the fight earlier.

"There is someone. A rather innocent looking peasant." Mech announced pointing his nose in a direction.

"Mech, don't say such things aloud." Raven said, grabbing his muzzle and as she looked to see what her canine was talking about.

Down the right ally, Raven could see a young woman, probably a bit older than herself, bending over some pots and stacking them up.

"Mech," Raven whispered a bit more quietly. "Get back under the tarp, before she notices you."

Mech slunk back under his cover and kept his head low.

The woman quickly turned, when she heard voices. "Hello? May I help you?"

"Uh.." Raven stared at the women. She had a huge gash in her upper left side of her head. Raven brought herself to look away. "Yes, I was wondering if there as a vacant place to stay...at least for a while?"

The woman made a slight smile, finding her request a bit amusing. "My dear, you won't find such a place to stay here. This area is only full of slave residences. You need to head north from here to find any places to stay."

"I just came from the north." Raven said with a slight frown.

"Well, perhaps you weren't north enough to find any." The woman shrugged.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you a slave?"

The woman looked down but nodded with a smile. "Indeed I am."

"I'm sure you don't want any trouble, but please, will you let me stay and rest in your home for a while?"

The slave stared hard at her before she replied. "Are you running from the Empire?"

"What?"

"I don't like to shelter people who are running from the law. I could get in trouble if troops come looking for you here."

"I assure you, no one is looking for me here." Raven said.

The woman remained quiet as she thought this over. "Well, I guess. But you can only stay for a little while. My owner will be coming by sometime today and I don't want you here when he arrives."

"I understand, thank you." Raven said, sighing with relief.

"This way." The woman replied.

She led Raven and Mech into her small adobe home, which only consisted of three small rooms: A cooking area, a bathroom and a bedroom. Raven looked around closely, seeing that this slave had so little. She felt bad for coming into her small space. But she was so exhausted and she needed rest. As she walked father in, she noticed she barely almost touched the roof of this small little shelter.

"Oh please." Raven turned to see the woman holding Mech fast from coming into the building. "Please, tell your strange droid to stay out, its too big to come inside."

Raven hesitated to have Mech, leave her side. But she was sure she would be fine here. "It's ok boy, stay outside."

Mech stood still for a minute, probably processing her choice, but backed up and laid down to make himself less noticeable.

"Why does your droid have a drape covering it?" The woman asked, reaching for Mech's cover. Raven quickly put her hand down on Mech's side, before she could reach.

"He's not finished. I keep that tarp over him so that his parts won't get ruined. He's a bit delicate right now."

The woman nodded. "You are exhausted. Here, you may lay in my bed. I'm going to be cleaning, so I might be a bit noisy as I work."

"It's fine. Thank you again." Raven said with a slight yawn. She slunk off into the other small room in front of her. There on the floor, was a bundle of blankets that were stuffed together to make a bed. Raven didn't even care, she plopped herself down on it and instantly fell asleep.

She was falling. And floating.

Gravity had never felt so light before. Her whole body felt like a feather as she drifted downward, ever so slowly. Raven's eyes focused down below her, where a swirling mist of white vapor was spiraling down with her. She recognized it. It was the Force; this was a dream.

She fell for hours. It was the most peaceful fall she had ever experienced. Her mind was clear and careless. She didn't want this bliss to go away, ever. 'But this is a dream..' She told herself. The Force's energy started to swell around her. 'You will wake up; back to reality. Back to running for your life.' 'I just want to be happy again...'

A tear fell and floated up past her. Its weight was significantly less than her own.

'I haven't been truly happy in a very long time.'

"Then why did you leave?" The small words she had heard in side her head felt like it had taken a soft hand and slowly brushed her wet cheek.

"You felt love.. and you ran away from it."

Raven cried more. Suddenly, Raven could feel her body quickly becoming heavier. The air around her began to fly by her face. 'That wasn't real.. It wasn't.'

She could feel the full pull of gravity as she plundered down.

'It was only manipulation.'

"_Manipulation_?"

Raven heard the deep voice ringing through her ears. She continued to fall. Her lips parted in a whisper.

"Vader."

Raven awoke suddenly, gasping in shock. The slave woman was shaking her. Raven looked at her a moment, trying to remember who this woman was and were she had fallen asleep. It all rushed back to her quickly.

"Please! My master will be her very soon! I'm sorry, you must leave before he sees you here." The woman was frantic.

Raven's stare became hard as she scrambled to her feet. "It's ok. I need to leave away."

Raven felt the woman pushing her to the door. Quickly, Raven reached for her case that Mech had guarded for her and pulled out a single credit tab.

"Here... for the trouble."

The slave gaped at her. "Th-thank you.."

Raven nodded her head to the woman. "C'mon," Raven said to Mech as she turned her body around. "We need to get going and take shelter somewhere. Somewhere away from a lot of people."

Mech stood up on his metal paws and padded after his creator. Once they were out of hear shot from the slave, Mech turned his head up at his master, still under his tarp. "Why must we go into such sudden isolation?"

"Well.." Raven said, quickening her pace to a more satisfying speed. "I believe I had just connected to the Force in my sleep and Vader had felt my presence. It was definitely not long enough for him to really grasp my location, but to be safe, I need to get away from other people and practice meditation to control my feel in the Force. I need to be alone for that."

"I still don't understand." Mech replied.

Raven sighed. There was no real way to explain her fears to her robotic friend. "It's somewhat similar to a signal wave. My body pulsed several strong signal waves in my sleep. And Vader picked up those signals for a second. So he heard it, but can't really track it. Understand?"

"Yes. That makes a bit more sense to me. Even though it is impossible for a flesh being like your self to produce sound waves. I would have picked them up myself, if you did."

"I know, Mech. That was just an example."

"So which direction are we headed?"

Raven looked around her, as she realized she had brought them several meters away from the slave woman's house.

"We need to head north. That's most likely where we can find some facilities, and hopefully, some that are spread out."

"This way then." Mech turned slightly to his left and guided his master through the tightly weaved buildings that made up the slave colonies.

It took a few hours on foot to get through the slave location. The buildings were now more spread out, bigger and taller. These still looked pretty simple and ruined.

As Raven's feet tromped through the sand ally ways, her heart continued to pound out of control. It's anxiety, she told herself. Don't worry; he doesn't know where you are. You're just still shaken by the unexpected encounter in your dream, and you really have no idea what you're looking for right now.

It was true. Even with Mech's good sense of direction, they didn't know where to look for a place to stay. They needed some kind of small building set aside from the busy town that they could rent out for a few months until Raven felt it was safe to advance to a new location.

"Mech, any idea what a person who is willing to rent a house looks like?"

Mech was silent for a moment as he guided them through the new part of the city. "What? I don't know what you mean."

Raven sighed. "Never mind." I guess he isn't full mature in his learning state. "Do you know where we might perhaps find some kind of service place for this town? Like someone who would help us see a full layout of this place?"

Mech thought for a moment. "There won't be anything like that in a place like this. It's a rough city, and the community is not very democratically built. Our best guess to find a layout of the city, which can tell us where certain types of people live, would be to visit the local bars. It'll be dangerous in there, and I won't be able to go in with you. Bars usually don't like 'droids' to take up space in there."

"I see. Well, I think I'll be fine if I don't get in anyone's way. Where's the closest bar located?"

Mech turned his head slightly to the right. "Right over there." His nose pointed down the road to a building that was very low to the ground and had a large staircase descending down into the ground.

"Well, isn't that convenient," Raven replied, grinning.

"I would be careful in there. This bar is next to the slave corridors so there might be some slave owners in there, particularly some ones."

"You got it. Stay just outside of the entrance and listen if I call for you. I shouldn't be too long. If it's been over half an hour before I come back out, assume something has happened to me. Alright?"

The two of them reached the entrance and stopped right in front.

"I will protect you with my life." Mech nodded his head low.

Raven nodded to him and took the flight of stairs down into the bar, ready to get some answers and be done with this town.


	21. New Breath of air 4

"Watch where yar going!"

"Pardon me, I'm so sorry sir." Raven said in a hush tone to an angry man, stumbling up out of the building.

The pub around her, as she made it to the bottom stair, reminded her a bit of the old places near her neighborhood in Essex, England. Although this place seemed pretty rough, those bars use to get extra dangerous around the very early hours of the morning. She remembered when she use to go night walking through the streets.

There were so many different species of creatures here, and many forms of dialogue. She couldn't keep track of them all. Very little of them were speaking English, or as they called it, Galactic Basic. She had just learned that term from Mech when they were trapped in hyperspace as they escaped the Imperial Star Destroyers. He had also taught her that most species, particularly the ones that lived in the outer rim areas, didn't like humans who made eye contact with them for too long. She needed to keep that in mind, because at that moment, any of these guys could jump on her if she looked at them slightly wrong. So she kept her head low.

She advanced her way up to the bar, and sat away from everyone else. She noticed the bartender was human, thank goodness.

"Sir?"

The man looked over at her with a bit of a sneer.

"Yeah?"

She thought to ask him about a place to stay. But after all, he was a tender, what would he know? He also didn't look to friendly. Better buy a drink and get on his good side before she started asking questions.

"Got anything sweet to drink?"

The man studied her over his shoulder for a minute. He then turned completely around slowly and leaned up on the bar in front of her. "Sure, but are you looking for a spicy sweet or a fruity sweet?"

"Uh.. Fruity." Raven said, trying to act casual.

The man nodded his head slightly, still looking her straight in the eyes. He then turned back to a machine, picked up one of the drink mixers and poured some bright orange liquid into a small shot glass. He then handed it to her. "Try this, I'll give you more if you like it."

Raven lifted the drink to her nose and sniffed it first, just to be safe. It definitely had some kind of zesty smell to it. She took the drink, and instantly began coughing.

The bartender laughed. "I knew you weren't a drinker. Could tell, yer much too soft." He nodded his head several times, still chuckling to himself.

Raven smacked her lips and managed down the over powering taste. That was something else. Way stronger than any alchoholic shots she ever tried before.

"Yer not here to drink, lil miss, yer here for something else." He said, leaning both his hands down on the counter.

Raven stared at him for a moment, as the man's smirk got bigger. "Am I right?" he asked her.

"Yes, you are right." Raven said, looking over her shoulder around the catina before turning back. "I'm looking for a place to stay."

The man made another slight nod, "Are you looking to stay here long or just for a few nights?"

"More like several nights. I need some place quiet and away from the city."

"Ha!" The man made a loud chuckle. Raven looked at him more hard, startled by his sudden out burst.

"Yer not going to find much, miss. Unless you've got a good chunk o' credits, that is."

"Where can I find someone willing to let me rent?" Raven asked him.

The man looked at her a bit funny, questioning her phrasing. "Well.. yer not going to be able to get a place to yourself. But there are several slave owners who live just outside the city who could set you up to stay with a few of their slaves. My sister did that fer two days when she came to visit, bless her lil heart."

Raven nodded a bit. She could feel her head becoming a bit fussy from all the noise and the shot she had taken. "Have any recommendations?"

"Eh... I'm trying to remember the guy's name that my sister set up a place to stay. Cuat, I think it was?"

"Cuat?" Raven repeated.

"Yeah.. I believe he's an Er'Kit. I dunno much about him but my sister said he takes a decent price to stay with his slaves. And the slaves are quiet charming, they fed her meals everyday."

Raven stared blankly at the man, trying to keep up with his lips. He sounded like he was slurring. Her guess is it was the liquior.

"Yeah... so.. where can I, you know, contact this guy?" She asked, trying to focus.

The man kinda gave a snorted chuckle, but he shook his head. "You'd have to ask my sister, if you can wait another month once she comes in for another visit."

Raven frowned. "I need a place to stay now. I have no where to go."

"Well, I gave you all the useful information I could give you." The bartender shrugged, slightly turning away to help another person who approached the counter.

Frustration built up with in her, as she gave the counter a slight pound. She then put her forehead down in her palm, trying to think. Alright, so I have a name, but no location. Where can I find him? Who do I ask to help me? Where do I look for help now?

A firm claw gripped her shoulder and spun her around. Raven came face to face with quite the ugly fellow. He looked pretty much human, expect his arms were mangled, scaley and large. The scares on his left brow and lower lip, along with the scowl, clearly stated this guy wasn't nice. Raven cocked her head slightly at him, frowning.

"You've got a temper for such a small young thing." He hissed.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I guess so," She replied, as she turned to face the counter again, but this guy stopped her again, but gripping her shoulder once more. "I like them with an attitude. Keep it up, and you won't be walking out here alone." The guy gave her a rather large grin, revealing some reptilian looking teeth. His grip on her shoulder was fierce and made her skin burn from the tight squeeze.

"Yeah well, I plan to walk out alone." Raven said, slightly smiling back into this repolsive creature's face.

"You don't understand... you won't have a choice." The grin on this guys face was now a sneer, as his grip became tighter and his claws started to pierce her flesh. By now all the people, either leaning or sitting at the bar, and the bartender had their eyes on them. No one spoke up to defend her, nor did anyone join the creature's side.

Raven sighed, "You picked a bad day to give me a hard time. I'm really not in the mood."

A screaking cry was heard, along with the sound of flesh ripping and burning to the blade of a plasmatic sword echoing through the bar. It went silent for only a moment, but then the chatter and background music returned.

Mech lifted his head slightly under his tarp as he heard soft footsteps coming out of the bar. He had been sitting there for quite some time and was startled by the bloody cry from down within. But it had only been a few minutes, and his master had instructed him to only investigate within a half hour if she did not come out. But he had layed down, and softly whinned, hoping Raven was safe.

As he listened, with his ears perked and ready, his body relaxed to the fimilar voice of his creator. "We're ready to go now, Mech." Raven said, standing next to her hound's side.

"What happened in there?" Mech asked curiously.

"Got picked on. Had to teach him a lesson, or else he wouldn't let me go. I really didn't want to kill anyone and get my face known here, but I had no choice. But the upside is I got some bounty hunter's liking and they helped me find a place."

"Yes?" Mech said, encouraging her to tell more.

"There's a slave owner, named Cuat. He lives only 15 miles away from the city's border and he takes cheap offers for visitors to stay in his slave's homes. If we take a left from here and stay straight, we'll run into one of the city's gates near a large Jawa stand. Once we leave the city, there is a clear path out and his place with the slaves houses will be right off the road."

Mech nodded, comparing his master's directions in his head to his built-in map of this city.

"Before we leave the city, however, we need to buy some food and water supplies, and sell all these scraps. Know of places where we can do that, Mech?"

"Yes... we can sell the scraps to the Jawas before we leave the city and a food market is on the way there. We can buy a weeks amount of food and more than enough water there. We might need to make visits to the city to get you more food, however."

"I figured, we would. We best get going. I don't want more trouble to show up, in case word spreads about me from here."

"Raven?" Mech asked as they began to walk away from the bar.

It was the first time he had called her by her real name. Raven looked to her robotic dog. "What is it?"

"Why are we running from your Lord? Why did you originally want to leave him?"

Raven stared at her hound as they slowly walked down the sandy path. Her gaze moved to the horizon. Amazing, she thought. His A.I. mind was becoming more vivid. He was starting to pounder and think deeply about things. "Mech.."

Her hound perked his head to his name.

"I am your master, am I not?"

"Indeed, you are."

"And I created you, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I treat you kindly? Are you happy being with me and how I act with you?"

"Yes, you are very kind to me. And I am happy, if I have a true belief of what happiness is."

Raven smiled and nodded. "You see, Mech, Vader is my master. He created me and made me what I am now. But, I was not happy being his. He didn't treat me fairly. He kept secrets from me, he did not show appreciation for me and he did not make me happy."

Mech stared into his master's eyes, his red eyes scanning her human emotion. "He didn't make you happy?"

"No, Mech. That is why I ran away."

"So... Love is not the same as happiness?"

Raven was silent. She stared hard into the sun above them and then looked to the ground, where her brown boots kicked up sand. "No, Mech. Happiness and Love are not the same."


	22. New Breath of air 5

As the morning became noon, the sun started to reach a dangerous temperature. The sand under their steps felt like a boiling liquid, pulling them down and dragging them along. Raven had taken shelter under Mech's tarp with him. She had to be careful not to lean against him; his metal coat was hotter than the sand.

The two of them had just started down the road that led out of the city, and they began their search for Cuat and his property. They had already sold their spare parts and used the little money they received to buy a stock of food, water and a container that would protect their supplies from the heat.

Raven was more worried about Mech than anything.

"Are you staying cool enough, Mech?" She asked him periodically. Every time, the hound would answer, "Yes."

When Raven had constructed her robotic friend, she had made sure to give him some kind of cooling system better than Purple's old design. Purple merrily had a fan that would circulate inside him to prevent the rest of his body from overheating. She didn't have to worry about that too much for Purple, as they lived up north where it was always a decent climate. But for Mech, she made sure to give him the best of the best, since she didn't know if they would run into any climate trouble. She was thankful she kept that in mind, but she didn't know if it was going to be enough. Mech's temperature reading was saying it had reached almost 115 degrees, and it was still going up. If Mech got overheated, he might burn out and stop working. Raven couldn't risk that because she didn't know the chances of repairing him here.

"You should drink more water." Mech said, seeing the sweat trickle down her face.

"I had a sip 10 minutes ago." Raven said, wiping her forehead.

"You will get dehydrated out here."

"I know, I know. But I don't want to waste too much water." Raven argued.

The hot sun made layers of waves before them as they continued down the sandy trails. It's only 15 miles out of the city, she reminded herself, it wont be very long until we see it coming up.

"Mech." Raven gasped.

"Yes?"

"I bet we will get there much faster if you run us there."

"We would definitely get there faster that way." He agreed.

"Here, lemme see the tarp. Don't worry, no one is out here, no one can see you." Raven pulled the trap completely off of Mech and layered it on his back. "Now, I'll hold the supplies and you run. Once we see the house we'll cover you back up and walk the rest of the way."

"Ok." Mech said simply. He lowered his body down on the ground so Raven could climb up easily on his back while grasping the box of food and water. She wedged the box between her legs and held with one arm, and grasped Mech's handle between his shoulders with the other. She took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" Mech asked.

Raven stared out for a minute. First time to ride her hound. Let's see how easy it's going to be.

"Yes." She replied. But at that moment, she jolted back as Mech took off into an instant 45 mph run. Raven's grip on the handle bar instantly was lost and she flew off of Mech and rolled into the hot sand. Mech instantly stopped and trotted back to his Master. With a cough, Raven shook the sand from her head and shoulders. "Let's try starting off slow and working up to that speed, alright?"

Mech nodded. "Sorry.""

Again, Raven climbed up onto her dog, secured the supplies and held tightly on the Mech's handle. "Ready."

Mech started off at 15 mph. Raven stayed on. He sped to 25 mph. Raven gripped the handle tighter. He climbed it to 40 mph. She still hung on. Eventually, she stayed tightly gripped to Mech as he ran through the sandy desert. It was difficult to hold on with just one arm. She could feel her muscle in that arm burning as it desperately strained to stay on. This was another condition to get use to. Raven gritted her teeth as they sped along, she tried to reduce the pain by gripping Mech's sides with her thighs and legs. It only helped a little. She would just have to endure it for now. If they kept this routine up every day, her muscles would tone out and she'd have a much easier time like this. Hell, she would have to, if she were to ever ride Mech while wielding her lightsaber.

It felt much longer than 15 minutes, but they finally spotted a house.

"Ok Mech, time to walk it now." Just as these words came out of her mouth, Mech suddenly halted and Raven went flying forward, landing several yards in front. Mech slumped his head and returned to his master's side. "I apologize again." He said with a bit of guilt.

Raven lifted her head up and gave a crooked smile. "It's ok. Just remember, you need to slow down first, I'm not use to riding." Mech returned her words with another slight nod.

Raven covered Mech back up with the tarp and they walked up to the small house in the middle of the sand. Wind had picked up around the place and sand twirled around them. Raven covered her eyes as Mech led her through.

"Stay where you are!" A male voice shouted out to them over the wind. "What do you want?"

Raven tried to squint out and see who was speaking, but the sand stung her eyes. "I've coming looking for a place to stay for a while." Raven shouted back. "I have plenty of credits to pay."

There was no reply, only the wind continued to moan around them. Raven, again, tempted to look for a second to see who she was talking to. She saw a figure of someone tall and thin standing under shelter of the building. From what she could tell, he was human. He only stared at her.

"Are you Cuat?" Raven asked. She knew he wasn't, since he was human. But she had hoped he would tell her where he was.

"No. I am his slave. Cuat isn't here right now."

"May we stay here until he gets back?"

There was silence again. The slave didn't seem to trust them. But that seemed typically in a place like this.

"What is that thing you have with you under the cover?" The slave asked.

"It's only my droid." Raven replied.

"Why is he covered up like that then?"

"He isn't finished. I'm trying to keep the sand from ruining him. Please, we need to take shelter from this weather."

Again, the slave was silent for a moment. "How do I know if your not with the Empire?"

"Why would that even matter?" Raven asked. "You have something to hide?"

The slave suddenly turned and ran into the house, closing the door behind him.

Damnit, Raven said. Well, that just made him very obvious. But she didn't care if they had something to hide from the Empire. She was no longer apart of their affairs. But she would have to convince him to let them in, out of the blazing sun.

Raven stood under the cover where the slave was and knocked on the door. When no one came to answer it, she began to pound on it. "Please, I just need to keep me and my droid out of this weather until your master returns!" She yelled, hoping the slave would hear her. She was about to pound on the door again, when it opened, and a woman stood there, looking at her bewildered. "Why are you pounding on the door so much?"

Raven was taken aback from her question. "Um, there was a man. Or boy. I was speaking with him and he ran away and into the house. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I didn't know anyone else was here."

"I am here. And so is my son and my daughter." The woman replied.

The male slave must be her son, Raven thought.

"Ma'am," Raven said to the woman, holding the door half way shut, "I need a place to stay for a while. I heard Cuat, I'm guessing your master, allows people to occasionally rent out a room here."

The woman looked at her with a hard stare. "Why can't you just stay in the city?"

Raven sighed. "I need some peace and quiet. I can't stay in the city."

The woman shifted her weight to her foot that was behind her. "Are you running from someone?"

Raven paused for a moment. "You could say that, yes."

"Are you with the Empire?" She asked it just like the boy did.

"No. I'm running from someone who is in the Empire."

"Master will not let you stay if you lead the Empire here. You must leave."

"No, its ok. The Empire doesn't know I'm here. But I can't take chances staying in the city. I don't know if the Empire will come by and scan around for me. I will be safe here, away from the city."

The woman wasn't buying any of this, and Raven could tell from how stirn her expression was. "I can't let you in without my Master's permission."

"Then can you at least let me stay around until your Master get's back? I traveled far to get here and have no where to go."

"Alright. I guess so. You see that shack over there?" The slave woman pointed to a white solid building low to the ground.

"Yes?" Raven replied.

"You can put your droid there and keep him safe."

"Thank you, I apprecia- wait.. how did you know he needs shelter from this weather?" Raven asked suspisiously.

The woman only stared hard at Raven. They held that cold stare for a while. There was such hostility in her gaze, even though, there seemed to be no reason for it, Raven thought. She was about to ask the woman another question, when she decided to slam the door shut in Raven's face.

Raven stood there, staring into the door. Into nothing. That was pretty odd. The woman could have been told by her son since she did tell him about Mech's 'condition'. But not really. There is no way he had that much time to tell her anything.

Raven broke out of her thought process and walked Mech over to the small white building. It didn't look like it would be high up enough for Mech to fit in. She then realized once she opened the door, the floor dropped down a few feet under the sand. It would be perfect.

"Alright, Mech, same drill. Go ahead and stay in here until Cuat comes by. You can take your tarp off and just keep an ear shot out for any trouble out here."

Mech tilted his head "You're not going to take shelter?"

"I need to stay out here and look for Cuat."

"You need more shelter than I do, Raven."

Raven gave a warm smile and quickly gave Mech a pat on the side. "I know. But I'll be fine. If I need water I'll just get some. Take the container in with you, ok?"

"Yes." Mech answered, pulling the container under his tarp with his cords. He then swiftly went down into the white shack, and Raven closed the door behind him. She then went around on the side of the small building and sat in the shade. Her gaze met with the blazing horizon of the empty desert. She sighed. She knew that this would be very difficult, finding a decent place to hide for a while. She had to just take what she could get and be paicent. She could soon find herself a planet, full of water, forests and a cool climate. Tipping her head back and shutting her eyes for a moment, she could picture it. It was a gorgeous sight. There just had to be a planet out there similar to her idea.

A sudden jolt went through her body. She had felt it; the Force. It had struck her as she sensed another presence nearby. It had only been noticed when she let her body relax and her mind become loose. There was another being near her with incredible connections to the Force. She gasped. The woman, perhaps?

As her eyes scanned across the desert again, a bluish grey figure was walking along the sunrays towards them. The creature's appearance seemed pretty human, except for the awkwardly bent legs and scrawny body. Raven raised a hand over her eyes to see if she couldn't see him better. She could tell he saw her, as he quickened his pace to approach. Raven then stood with her hands on her hips, standing tall, ready for anything. If Cuat, she knew what to ask and what to do. If not, and if it was trouble, then fate knew what to do.

As the figure got closer, he moved to a walk. It was quite an awkward walk. The way his legs bent like a dog's, made his whole body bob up and down, particularly his head. From the looks of him, she was pretty sure he was Cuat. But she did not like the fact that he held two large guns on his belt around his waist. If the bar tender was right, this guy was friendly. However, people had different definitions for being friendly.

"Hello." Raven announced. "My name is Raven. I am looking for the owner of this property, Cuat. Are you he?"

The scrawny blue humanoid grinned. "Indeed. How may I help you, Raven?"

"Well, you see... I need a place to stay for a while. And I heard your the one to ask."

"I see." Cuat gave a strange sound for a laugh, almost like a squawk of a bird. "My reputation has gotten out there, hasn't it? But you know, it will cost you a small price."

"Don't worry... I can pay."


	23. An Alliance 1

(AN: I am not nearly as good at writing Vader's part as my boyfriend.)

-Room 91 of Section 66-

The room still had her feel to it. The way she had rearranged the table to her liking; adjusted it down so it would be at her level, pulled out in the middle of the room so that she could work on it from all four sides, and added metal pieces to its supports so it was stronger and more sturdy for heavy equipment. The bed still had her figure in it. The lumps on the sheets still had the tracings of where she laid there last, and where she had slid out to begin her last day here. And of course, there was the wardrobe...

Darth Vader walked over to the small framework and opened it, peering inside. All of her clothes from her home were still packed away. A box sat on the bottom shelf, full of her books and tokens of Earth. Why had she left all her treasured things behind, he wondered. It would have been harder to escape with, but it could have been done. He lifts a glove hand into the small, boxed shelf and pulled out a purple cloth of some sort. He held it up with both of his hands so that it unfolded to reveal its form. It looked like a jacket with a hood on it. He started at the tiny clothing he held in his grasp. It was so small. Surely she couldn't fit into now. He noticed tears, patches and faded places on the fabric. It looked as if it would have been something she worn as a child.

"Hmm." Vader breathed deeply placing the jacket down on top of the other clothes. "She wouldn't bother risking to come back for this." He brought is glove to vent of his mask as he thought.

"My lord?"

Vader turned slightly to see two of his personal troopers standing head high. He had sent them here a while ago.

"Take everything in this wardrobe with you back onto my ship. But don't touch anything else." Vader demanded.

"Yes, my lord," they both chanted, and quickly grabbed for the things and put them in the box already half way packed.

Holding his hands behind his back and looking around the room with just his eyes, the Dark Lord continued to ponder his next moves.

He was still waiting for signs of finding the girl. He had to be patient, and keep reaching out with the Force to locate her. She would be revealed to him eventually. And once he found her, he wanted to keep her on his prized Star Destroyer, the Executor, to make sure she wouldn't get away from him again. It would take a long time before he could trust her again to roam freely. He'd keep her on a much tighter leash until he was sure he broke some loyalty into her.

Vader looked back to the bed, staring for a last time at the body press in the sheets. She can't be known that she was here. _He_ couldn't know about her. That is why he had to quickly gather her things and take them to his ship. He had considered burning them and pushing his thoughts back so she wouldn't appear to exist.

_But..._

He couldn't bring himself to destroy her treasures. They were the little things she had left to remember her forgotten world. Possibly the only fragment materials left from that pitiful planet. But she loved it. And so he would keep these things safe.

As the troopers finished stuffing the box full of everything in the wardrobe and carried it out the door, Vader took a swiping hand and scattered the sheets on the bed. No more evidence left.

Now, he had to move quickly and return to his Star Destroyer. There were other matters to deal with now. He had a galaxy that needed shaping up. A galaxy that will someday be his own.

...

It didn't feel like she was living in a slave house. She had thought of slavery to be cold, heartless and depressing. Not this. It had only been a week now that Raven started paying rent to stay in Cuat's slave's house. It felt like home. The woman slave, named Shinaw, was the sweetest most hospitable young woman she ever met. Every morning, if Raven had not come out of her room by a certain time, Shinaw would knock on her door to check on her. She'd say almost every morning: "Raven, hon? How'd you sleep? There's breakfast made if you want some." It made Raven feel wanted and welcome.

And of course, there was Shinaw's little daughter, Puana. This girl was maybe shy of four years old, and had so many questions for her mother. While Shinaw was cleaning out the kitchen or baking food or working out on the moister farm, Puana would be right by her side, asking questions like "Mommies, why is one of our starfires more red than the other?" or "Mommies, can I grow wings and fly when I'm big?" or "Mommies, can I have a droid like Raven's?" Her poor mother usually grew tired of these questions fast, and would answer everything simple with 'yes' or 'no.' Puana definitely had a lot of energy, but was too young yet to do many of the chores. Sometimes, when Raven wasn't back in the city, gathering material or exploring her options of where to leave next after this planet, she was sitting with Puana and entertaining her with stories of Earth or games she use to play as a kid. Shinaw loved it when Raven looked after her child so she could work quicker. Raven noticed that every time Puana said 'starfire,' she meant a sun. The first time Raven was introduced to the little one, Puana immediately asked: "Are you from a starfire?" And her mother would explain, as she probably has done several times before, "No, sweetie. People can't live on starfires. Other wise they would catch on fire." But Puana was determined to find someone who could land and walk around on a starfire.

As for the Shinaw's son, Kinx, never said much to Raven. Kinx barely linger around the house and spent most of his time on the moister farms. The little times he was at the house and was in Raven's presence, he would hardly acknowledge her company. Raven had thought he just didn't like or, perhaps, not trust her. When she asked Shinaw about Kinx, she smiled and shrugged, "He barely talks to us either. He's just a loner. Doesn't like to interact with others very much, unless he has to. Even as a young child he had been quiet."

As much as Raven had already grown use to the slaves' company, she knew should couldn't stay forever. She wouldn't be able to afford to. By the time a month would pass, her rent cost would take out a forth of the credits she had. She needed to preserve her currency, incase she had difficulty finding a job on the next planet she settled down on. She had investigated a port in the city that was much like a space bus; it would make sever stops to other planets. The cost wasn't going to be much, thankfully.

Today was the day Raven needed to go back to the city and restock on her water supply. The slaves feed her a lot, and she would feel bad to take water from them too. On her way out, she planned to stop at the transport station and investigate all the different planets they made stops at. She had to pick one soon and do her research with Mech in order to prepare for a new life style.

The twin suns were boiling hot already so early in the morning. Raven had come up to the shed where Mech slumbered until called upon.

"Yes, Raven?" Mech said, lifting his head under his tarp as if he could see her through it.

"It's time to go back to Mos Espa. We need water and a look at the transport stops." Raven answered briefly.

Mech stood up and wiggled his way out the small door of the shed. From there they walked on foot until the house was out of sight. For safety of Shinaw and her children, if the Empire were to ever question them if Raven was there, she couldn't let them confirm the identity of Mech. She trusted them, but she didn't trust the Empire. They could torture the slaves if they suspected any of them knew anything about her.

Once clear from sight, Raven pulled the tarp of her hound and folded it into a cloth harness. She placed it on his back and jumped aboard.

This routine was normal for them now. Mech knew to gradually gain speed when running, and Raven knew how much grip she needed in order to hold on. Mech also grew better and stopping without sending Raven flying forward. They would reach the city's boarder exactly 20 minutes everyday, once there, Raven would place the cover over Mech and they'd continue in on foot.

Something today struck Raven odd about the town. It seemed.. empty. Hardly anyone was out. Panic began to run through her. Perhaps the Empire was here? Had they begun to search for her here already? Raven quickly focused in on her senses. No, he isn't here. At least. She sighed. At least she was safe from Vader being near and searching her out.

"What is it?" Mech asked her.

"It's too quiet around the town."

Mech turned his head and began to realize his master's concerns. "Shall we hurry and get the water?" Mech asked.

"Yes. Let's move quickly."

Inside the small building, the same middle aged man named Tam that ran the shop was there, looking as grouchy and bitter as always. The pants around his fat gut looked so tight and the hair on his head had a bald spot that seemed to get bigger each time.

"Buenos dias, Tam." Raven said cheerfully as she walked by.

"Hmph." Tam grunted, leering at how jolly the girl looked. "What did you call me?"

"Nothing. I just said good morning. It's a language from my planet."

"I'm sure it is." Tam said bitterly.

Raven went to the back of the store where he kept all the containers of water. Raven hoisted her jug up under one of the spouts and began filling it. She looked over and saw another man she had never seen before, half on his own container. The man felt Raven's gaze and looked over at her. The man looked relatively young, except for the grey streaks in his short brown hair and the small crow's feet around his bright grey eyes. Raven looked away and back at her jug, only to be confronted:

"I see you have a light saber on your belt."

Raven looked back at the man, giving him a neutral expression. "That's right."

The man grinned. "You know how to dual with it?"

Raven shrugged.

"I bet you're a bounty hunter of some kind. And that's the weapon of a Jedi you had slain. There still out there, hiding from us all, you know."

"Yes, I know." Raven agreed, looking back to her water.

The man finished filling his container and sealed it. He placed it on the ground and stood, facing Raven directly. "I don't know if you have heard, but the Rebel alliance has been looking for fighters."

Raven glanced back quickly. Sounds like a job opportunity.

"I don't know you're preference with the Empire, but most Bounty Hunters I know don't like the Empire."

"I want nothing to do with the Empire." Raven said coldly, finishing her fillings and sealing her jug tight.

"Then you wouldn't mind siding with the Rebels?"

"Who are they?" Raven asked, more curiously now.

"An organization that has come together because of the unjust the Empire has set upon the Galaxy. The Rebels work together to fight against the Empire so that it may one day fall and democracy be restored again."

Raven liked the sound of that. With her little experience under the Empire's control, it was nothing but a monarchy. Everyone obeyed a higher power. And not just because he was 'royalty' but because he actually had powers to strike fear into them. Raven grimaced. Democracy. A way of living she had discovered when she was sent to the United States. Democracy was, above all, the best government that could ever exist for a people. And if there were people out there that wanted this same way of government for this new world she was stuck in, she felt obligated to help and gain it.

"Where can I find out more?"

The man smiled proudly. "Oh, you're interested? I'm glad to hear. Tell you what; let us discuss more of it later. But now I must make a trip to the transports and send off some of my crew. Will you meet me there in a two hours?"

"Sure. Ironically enough, I am in need of going there too."

"Great!" The man beamed, "Shall we go together then?"

Raven nodded. "Alright."

The man went with Raven over to Tam and they both paid for their water amounts. Now, for sure, Raven was starting to feel more prepared in her new life. She felt she was beginning to work out a solid plan. It would only be a matter of time before she would be ready to leave the miserable planet of Tatooine. It has been nice staying with you, Shinaw, Puana, and Kinz. But I need to soon depart and fly away.


	24. An Alliance 2

(AN: Dead Mouse is a real techno artist. It is spelled Deadmau5)

People, people.

Everywhere, there were people. People shuffling around, grabbing their luggage, grabbing a hold of their children's hands, pointing and searching for their transport, yelling and shouting of names, pushing and shoving. Raven felt so closed in. She was glad she had ordered Mech to stay hidden up out of the station. There was barely any room in the walkways. She didn't understand why it was so crowded here. Why were there so many people trying to leave the planet today? At this rate, trying to find that man would take a very long time. She wished she had asked more specifically where she should meet him.

As she shoved her way through the thick sea of beings, she spotted a waiting area that barely anyone was standing in. Fighting through the traffic, and getting bumped in the head by taller passing citizens, she reached the spot and gasped. Turning to look at the walk area where she managed to wiggle away from, she shook her head. It was like a giant heard of cattle, she thought. Everyone was flowing in one direction.

Raven stood there, peering out at all the people, trying to see if she could spy the man who had spoken of the Rebel alliance. He was human, and, from the looks of all the different species swarming the station, there weren't too many of them here. She spent a few minutes scanning the area, until she gave up. He wasn't in this part of the station. She turned back around to see the small amount of persons sitting in this small area. One was a mother with a baby child. This mother looked like a tiny red dinosaur. Her features reminded Raven of a triceratops, with her beak like mouth and the large crown shape skull. She sat there, huddled around her baby, swaying back and forth. She looked to be waiting for someone, perhaps the father. The other two were furry looking creatures with a fly's mouth. They both sat next to each other and appeared to be snoring logs. Glancing to the wall, Raven saw a list of all the different transports that regularly passed through. She walked up and examined all of the planet names. Some of them she recognized from Mech, but couldn't recall what each one was like. She did remember Mech saying there was a beautiful planet not too far from here, in the mid rim of the galaxy. Naboo, she believed was it's name. It was quite popular among tourists and the natives that lived there were very nice to visitors. The whole planet had a cool climate to it year round and was covered in green swamps, forests, vast seas and open grasslands. It was very similar to earth, but perhaps three times smaller. Nethertheless, it would be perfect to settle down in. But as Raven searched through the list, the planet of Naboo was nowhere recorded. She frowned, quite disappointed.

"Glad you could make it." A voice came from behind.

Raven wiped her head around, her blue hair slightly covering her eyes, as she saw the Rebel man standing very close to her.

"It's not safe here. Come." He gripped her upper arm and pulled her quickly towards the crowd. He easily fought through the massive amount of people, holding firm to Raven so he wouldn't lose her in the madness. Raven stumbled after him, trying to keep up. He was in a big rush- that was for sure. "Why isn't it safe?" Raven spoke up over the noise of everyone around them.

"The empire's goons are here. I can't be seen."

Raven's eyes went wide, her heart suddenly thumping in her chest as she looked back behind her. For a second, she saw a storm trooper going in and out of the waves of people. He was searching.

The fear of being caught so soon quickened her pace as she followed her guide. As they were heading towards the same door Raven had taken to get into the station, instead of heading up the stairs, the man turned right and went for a door. This door looked like it was set aside and not for the use of passengers in the station. But this man went straight too it, opened it up, and let Raven in. It came to be a tunnel, dimly lit by small neon lights in crevices in the wall. Down the hall was another door, and from the sound of it, boomed loud music on the other side.

"This way." The man said, quickly going down the tunnel. They came to the door and opened it.

Raven was hit by a sudden memory. The instant the door opened, in flooded bright lights of all colors and techno music. There was a large stage with people swarmed around it, dancing and jumping around. It had to be a Rave. It filled Raven of so many thoughts of home in the United States, when she used to go clubbing with Jenny and Brad. She missed those nights of nonstop fun. And although the music and its lyrics of "I just wanna play it right... We, we're gonna get it tonight!" were tempting her to get out there and dance, other matters held her back. Now was not a time to enjoy herself, but to come to terms with finding a safe home.

"Ah, a free table over there. Let us sit and we can discuss plans." The man started for tables to their left. Raven followed, still watching the Rave party displayed in front of her. She looked to the people, most of them were surprisingly human, but they wore masks and helmets on their heads as they danced around, clawing at one another's faces to make some strange dance to the beats. She then looked up at the DJ, who wore a giant red helmet on with large circles for ears and X's over his smiling sinister face. The more she stared at, the more she was reminded of a disturbing version of that popular cartoon from Walt Disney. Sadly, she could not recall its name. If she were born an American, she would have been able to instantly think of it.

Raven sat down and turned her attention to the man. As she looked upon him, she realized he was wearing different clothing from this morning. He wore a suit buttoned up and gloves. He looked to be in some professional uniform. Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, I never caught your name."

"Did I forget to make an introduction? I'm so sorry. My name is Daom. And if you can't guess, I am a member of the Rebel alliance."

"I figured." Raven said, nodding once. "If you don't mind me asking.. what were you doing in the transport station?"

"Helping one of the Rebel captains make a jump back to our base without being tracked. The Empire had come today to do another sweep search for illegal activity, I guess. The captain needed to be back today, so I got him to his transport and boarded the computer and deleted its log for this trip, along with the names of the passengers."

Raven placed a fist under her chin as she listened. "Is that why everyone was trying to leave today?"

"I assume so.. More than 80% of the population on this planet is involved with some kind of illegal cause."

"So tell me more about this rebellion. Is it actually going to try and bring the Empire down?"

Daom grinned proudly. "By all means necessary, yes. The Rebellion started a few decades ago when the Galactic Empire took power. Some say it's good to adapt to change, but by the first year, it was clear that the Empire was crushing democracy and all sense of freedom. This change was not for the better. So we fight to restore the ideals of the Old Republic; when life was basic and peaceful."

Raven began to listen deeply. She liked the sound of this already.

"I haven't had much experience yet with the cruelty of the Empire, but I can tell you, I've heard enough to know I don't support their ways." Raven said.

"Good. You sound like a Rebel." He grinned, hope sparkling in his bright eyes.

A droid wheeled up to their table, holding a serving plate with drinks upon it. Daom looked over and snatched a red looking drink. "Why, thank you." He said, nodding to the droid, then looking back to Raven. "Want a drink?"

"I'm fine." Raven said, more towards the droid so that it would carry on.

"If I were to join the Rebels, you had said I could be a fighter?" Raven asked.

"Indeed. We could use you as a guard. We have several Rebels we plant in the Empire to get top-secret information out of them that we could use against them in an attack. We could use an experienced fighter to tag along with our spy, to keep them safe if they ever were discovered."

Raven immediately frowned. "Sorry. But I wish to never return to the Empire. I've been there before, I don't want to go back."

Daom said nothing and studied the girl, his fingers folded together in front of his mouth. "...You're not a bounty hunter, are you?" he asked her.

Raven stared. She wished to not give herself away, so she could not come up with a proper reply. But Daom just smiled once again, the wrinkles slightly appearing around his mouth and cheeks. "I wasn't sure when I first saw you... and I saw your light saber. But now I'm almost positive." He placed his hands down in front of him, spreading his fingers out towards Raven. "You're a Jedi."

Raven sighed, and Daom suddenly became very excited. "I knew it. I knew the Empire hadn't killed you all off." Although he seemed to almost jump in his seat, he kept his voice low to not draw attention. "Where have you been hiding? Are there any more of you nearby?"

Raven looked down, feeling a bit shameful. "To tell you the truth, I'm not a real Jedi... at least not yet. I've been training for almost a year now, but I'm no where close to being high in experience."

"Who has been training you? Perhaps a master? Are any of them left?" They way Daom shot these questions at Raven, made her consider if he had known several of the Jedi before they were betrayed and murdered.

"I... I dunno if he is considered a master. But he betrayed me. And so I left him."

Daom's excited face faded to concern. "Betrayed you? What Jedi would do that?"

Raven shrugged, giving off a sarcastic laugh to cover up suspicion. "A rogue one?"

Daom somewhat chuckled, but he didn't seem to buy it. He probably knew too much about the Jedi code to know no normal Jedi would betray their apprentice. "Well... if you said you have a year of training, you must be good. Maybe we can set you up as a post guard at one of our bases. That way you won't have to encounter the Empire unless they come snooping around too close to headquarters."

Raven took the thought into consideration. "That could work."

Daom nodded. "You belong on our side, Jedi. Your ways are to fight for democracy and peace for the Galaxy.

"Raven." Raven said, fluttering her eyes impatiently.

"What?"

"Please call me Raven. Not Jedi."

"Ok.. Raven."

"Yes, I know that the Jedi fought to bring and maintain peace. But at this point, I'm more concerned about surviving. And perhaps finding more of my kind."

"So have I. I have search fourteen years to find a Jedi to join the Rebellion. And I'm sure the ones that are out there hiding might know about us now. But my suspicion is they don't know how many of their kind is left, and they fear there aren't enough of them to stand up to the Empire. That is part of my job with the Rebellion… to bring hope back to the Jedi and everyone else. Who knows, perhaps the Jedi are out there, searching for more people to learn what they have learned. Maybe they are repopulating themselves."

"I would hope so." Raven answered.

Daom took a swig of his drink. Raven glanced back to the Rave behind her. The DJ's head was starting to look more and more like a mouse. She saw him lifting his arms up high and the crowd roaring to his command.

"Mickey Mouse."

Daom looked up from his glass. "What did you say?"

Raven turned back around in her seat, smiling slightly. "It's a character on an old children program back on my planet. The DJ's helmet looks just like him."

Daom glanced up and smiled, looking down into his glass again. "Yeah, that's Dead Mouse. He comes here a lot. He brings happiness to this town."

Raven stared at Daom. She could see a hope that was struggling to stay seen within him. More than anything, she would love to be a fighter for the rebels. If she were to join up with them, she'd have a better chance of searching out real Jedi. Perhaps one that could help her finish her training. She still had a lot to learn. But the fear of having chances with being caught by the Empire bothered her. But if she could get a placement like Daom had described...

"I want to join."

Without even looking up, Daom was already beaming again. "Excellent."


	25. An Alliance 3

"You have two days to consider my offer. I'll meet you back here in this club just before sun down in 48 hours. If you aren't here, I'll know you have declined. Think it over. We need you."

Raven sat there, alone in the loud, booming club. Daom had left hours ago. The Rave crowd had gone and now recorded music played openly in the room. Barely any body was left. Only a few groups of aliens were hovering over the bar, muttering to one another or harassing the bartender.

Raven tipped the glass that Daom had his drink in with only the tip of her middle finger. She was almost lost in thought. This decision was going to be a hard one to make. It hadn't been nearly enough time to lay low and be forgotten about. If she went on the move again, the Empire could easily find her. Or if she did sign up with the Rebels and they placed her with a spy, there was no way she could stay unnoticed. She would be recognized, and blow the cover of the Rebel spy. Perhaps both of them would be executed. Or worse...

She was shaking. She was so afraid. She couldn't really tell why, but this decision felt like the hardest one to make. It would be risking everything she had worked hard to recover. If she was taken back to the Empire again, there was no hope of escaping again.

Raven gave up messing with the glass, and sighed deeply, putting her forehead to the table. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. Stay calm. You must stay calm. The glowing white light of the Force was transparent but there. It blanketed her as she breathed slowly.

"You're going to have to take a leap of faith."

Yes, yes I am. Raven picked her head up and placed her chin down on the table surface, looking around the room again. Perhaps it is time to go back to Mech. She remembered telling him that it might take a long while for her to come back. But she wondered what he considered a long time. It must have been over 5 hours since she last left her hound to hide out in the allies near the transport station. I should definitely head back out soon.

A sudden series of thumps hit her on top of her head. She sat up quickly and looked around. She was bewildered to see the same DJ from before, looking down on her. At first, it appeared he was smiling widely at her, but she then remembered that it was not his real face, but a helmet.

"Hi, friend. You should go home, you look like you partied too hard tonight."

Raven smiled weakly up at the guy. "Sorry to say, but I wasn't in your crowd. But I heard your music, I like it."

The guy nodded, the ears on his helmet wobbling. "Perhaps another time. G'night." He then turned and headed out the door that Raven had come through. She watched him go, still somewhat spacing out.

"Yeah. Good night. It's time to head home." Or what was temporary home.

Raven slowly rose off her seat and started for the exit. The dark hallway looked just the same, like it did 5 hours ago. But as she opened the door to the transport, she was surprised to see absolutely no one around. The whole place was vacant, empty. It was scary how quiet and still it was now compared to the afternoon. She suddenly had a fearful idea why this must be; the Empire could have made its sweep through here, and rounded up all the criminals that didn't escape in time. I gotta get out of here, Raven thought to herself, quickly ascending up the stairs.

As she made it into the outside, the twin suns had almost vanished. Everything had a purple hint to it as the light was fading from the sky. Raven turned to the right and walked down the sandy streets for quite awhile. She eventually came to the right alley. Turning down it, she could already see Mech's red glowing eyes peering out at her from behind some wooden boxes. "You were gone for a very long time." Mech said softly. His voice had a tone of sadness to it.

Raven walked up to him and put her forehead down on his. Because her hound was so tall, she barely had to bend over. She held his head in her hands, gazing at her reflection in his metal coat. Mech was silent for moment. He could see the tension all over his master. He gave her a minute until he eventually couldn't keep his curiosity in. "What did the man say?"

Raven gave a heavy sigh as she stood back up, still holding Mech dearly towards her face. "Good things. He has a request of me to be a warrior for the Rebels."

Mech blinked at her, his eyes glowing in a blaze. "That is good then."

Raven nodded, smiling weakly.

"Then why do you look worried?"

Raven chuckled. "Mech, that's because by joining the Rebels, we could be risking a chance to be caught by the Empire. But if I get a placement faraway... then I am for sure save. And we won't have to hide anymore."

"It's a gamble, then." Mech said, even softer. Raven could tell he understood her concerns.

"There is another thing." Raven continued. "The Rebels seem to be a pretty big group of people. And they probably have wonderful resources. Mech, if I join them, I could use their resources and my Jedi abilities to find other Jedi if they are still out there."

"Raven, the Jedi have been executed a long time ago. There aren't any of them le-"

"But there might still be! Listen, I talked with the guy... Daom is his name. He said he has faith that there might still be some Jedi who are still out there, hiding. Waiting to come back out and strike down the Empire."

Mech pulled his head away quickly from Raven's grip. "Since when is that a priority of ours?" He asked, sounding a bit alarmed.

"Don't you see, Mech? The Empire is a terrible government that has control over this entire galaxy. No matter what, they will always be a problem. Even if we were to join with the Rebels, we would still have the Empire hovering over us. If we can help the Rebels and find other Jedi to join us, don't you think we could take down the Empire?"

Mech's jaw somewhat dropped. "Do you have any idea how big and how powerful the Empire is?"

"Yes... I do. I imagine they are incredibly powerful if they are able to control a galaxy. Hell... their Death Star can blow up a planet with just one shot..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes glazed a bit.

Mech lowered his head. "I thought we just wanted to get away from the Empire... not engage them any more. There are systems way far out that the Empire hardly messes with. We would be safe there."

Raven looked down on the ground. "Perhaps that's where the Jedi are hiding..."

Mech cocked his head at her as she thought to herself. She then looked back up at her robotic dog. "You have to understand, Mech. I have nothing left but my training to be a Jedi. I need to finish it. That way I can assure us peace and safety. And I think the Rebels are our best choice to helping us find one."

Mech nodded slowly. "It is your decision. I just hope you are counting the odds against you."

"I am..." Raven replied.

The sky was almost pitch black now. The only light came from back out of the alley from some of the buildings and Mech's red eyes.

"I say we should head back home. I'm starving." She placed her hand on her companion's head. "We have two days before I need to decide whether or not we will be joining the rebels. I'll be sure to think it over more."

"Ok." Mech answered.

The two inched back out of the alley and headed to the exit of the town. The lights in were dim since most of the building had no outside light source. There was just enough light to see the ripples in the sand. No one was out in the streets so Mech remained uncovered. Raven walked with her hand on his shoulder. Her gaze was on the sand trail just in front of her. Her mind was wondering close by. The sweet feel of the Force was trickling around her smoothly. She listened to it, hoping it would help her with her pondering. Just as her mind had almost fully reach out, the white light jerked violently away from her and out to a building to the far right. That building wasn't far from the city's boarder. Raven held her eyes on this building, her heart starting to beat fast. What was there? Why did the Force pull her to that place? Then she heard the noises. Electronic voices.

"Shit." Raven cursed under her breath.

Mech had heard them too. He stopped dead in his tracks. Raven was about to look for the nearest place to hide, but they were already coming around the corner. Three storm troopers came into view, holding their rifle like guys. One of them turned and looked over at Raven and Mech.

In instinct Raven grabbed a hold of Mech's handle between his shoulders and pulled herself up next to him. "Go!" She yelled. Mech knew his master's plan. Mech sprinted towards the three troopers, just as the one that had already spotted them yelled. "Hey!" All of the storm troopers now turned to look and the first one was raising his guy toward their attacker, but it was too late. Mech had rushed to them just in time for Raven to pull out her light saber and swing at the first two of them. She took of a head and a shoulder, as Mech opened his jaws wide and clamped down on the third trooper's helmet. Raven jumped off and crouched around the two troopers she had brought down. The one missing the shoulder moaned loudly in pain, and reached for a button on his belt. Swiftly Raven sliced his neck and stepped away. Satisfied that they were both still and soundless, she turned back to her hound. Mech held the limp body of storm trooper number three in his jaws, gazing at his master with large eyes. His head was crushed tightly in his metal teeth, blood slowly dripping out of the helmet. Raven shivered at the sight. "Mech, drop him."

Mech obeyed, tossing the body next to the other two.

Raven felt sick. Her body was shaking from that sudden surprise. It had come too close for her. She needed to get out of this place; find somewhere less active. A place where the Empire would never think to look for her. Mech walked over to her, holding his head next to her chest.

"Let's get out of here. There might be more."

Mech nodded and the small Jedi climbed up onto her droid's back and he sped off towards the end of the city limit. The sand flew all around the air as Mech ran, and the three storm troopers lay like dolls abandoned in the night.


	26. Trapped 1

The night had quickly become morning, and eventually citizens were starting to emerge from their homes and began wandering the streets. It didn't take long for someone to come across the three storm troopers who all had severed or crushed heads. The town was in an uproar about this, people had reported the dead troopers, and more troops came piling in Mos Espa.

There was nothing quite like the feeling of being trapped. Trapped and waiting. Raven knew the Empire had come and investigated the murder and it was clear to them that perhaps these wounds were caused by a blade. No doubt that they had high suspicion that she was the cause. That she was here. Keeping calm was difficult.

Raven sat in her small guest room at Cuat's slave house, biting down on her lower lip nervously. She had been meditating all morning, ...thinking... plotting. The Force was not communicating with her. It only swirled around her shivering body to insure her that it was there. But it spoke no words of advice. Three times already, Storm Troopers came knocking on the door. Each time, Raven ran to the back of the small house and climbed down into the cellar room under a rug. Shinaw would answer the door and the troopers would request to search her house for the murderer. They would run throughout the house and not discover the cellar door. Down in the dark, Raven would hear their footsteps above her. She would hold her breath, praying and waiting. She has been lucky so far.

"Raven, what did you do? Why is the Empire here for you?" Shinaw asked, a little worried, but Raven also knew she was irritated as well.

"When you first came here, you said you had nothing to do with the Empire."

"I don't. I ran away from them."

"But they are looking for you. And you brought them here. If they discover you here and Master's spices down in the cellar, they'll kill us all."

"Spices?" Raven asked.

"Illegal imported drugs." She said frowning. No wonder it smelled funny down there.

Raven sighed, looking down at her feet as she sat on the floor. Shinaw folded her arms, standing in the door way and looking down at Raven.

"We've come to appreciate having you here, Raven dear. But whatever your ties are with the Empire, you are endangering us by stay here. You can stay until the end of the day, and hopefully by then, the troopers wont come by here as frequently. You'll need to leave by this evening."

"I understand." Raven said softly. She felt sad that her new acquaintance family wanted to kick her out, but she felt worse that it was true, in fact, that she was endangering all of their lives by being sheltered here.

"I'm sorry, Raven."

"It's ok. I had planned to leave soon anyway. I have been given an offer to join up with a group of people as a guard. They were going to return for me and pick me up in two days. But with the Empire all over the city, I don't know if I'm going to be able to meet back up with them."

Shinaw looked sadly upon Raven. "There isn't much I can do, but I can suggest to just hide out in bars. Most bars down in the city never close. I bet, however, the Empire will be searching through everyone of them, but by this evening, they may have already done a sweep through on all of them. It would be much safer than roaming the streets."

"That does sound like a good idea. Thank you, Shinaw."

Puana came skipping around the corner and tugged harshly on her mom's long dress. "Mama! Kinx needs your help out with the farm."

Shinaw sighed. "Alright." She looked back to Raven, but said no more. She turned and left to the back of their small house.

Puana saw Raven sitting in her room. She leaned against the entrance way and put her hands behind her back, the way most children do when they can sense something is wrong.

"Ummmm, Raven?" Her tiny voice squeaked.

"Yes?" Raven said, looking up at the child. Puana gave a smug smile; as if she were testing to make sure Raven could still talk. "Uhh... where is your droid?"

"He's hiding in the shed. Remember those mean people that came by in the white suits?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they are looking for me and my droid. If they find us, they will take us away and lock us up forever."

Puana gasped. "Why? Were you bad?"

Raven smiled and shrugged. "They think I was bad. But I did what was right for myself, and for my droid. So we need to hide here for the rest of the day until it is safe to leave."

"You're.. leaving?" Puana's voice became soft and said.

Raven's smile faded. "I'm sorry, Puana. I have to. I don't want to get you and your mother and Kinx in trouble if those bad guys come and find me here. They will punish you all if they find me here."

"But.. you can just keep hiding in the cellar. They won't find you there." Puana reassured her, tears forming around her eyes.

Raven sighed. "I can't live like that. I need to go and find a nice place to stay where the bad guys won't come and bother me. Understand?"

Puana shook her head stubbornly. Raven chuckled but to her surprise, Puana stamped her foot. "I don't want you to go!" She announced, and spun around and ran after her mother.

Raven stared after her. A guilty filling stirred in her gut. How was she supposed to make such a small child understand? She didn't think she could.

Raven looked back down to her feet and began to slip back into pondering. Shinaw's idea was probably the best she had. If she were going to stay hidden in a bar for the rest of this evening and all of the next day, she wasn't going to be able to sleep. She would need to rest longer and save her energy. Another thing she would need is to build more onto Mech's cover box so that he could stay in it and be hidden in an alley nearby while Raven stayed in a bar. She could start building with some scraps out in the shed after she woke up from a nap.

The wind outside was whistling loudly by the small, circular window in her room. Raven flopped down on the small bed and closed her eyes, trying to relax. Forget the Rebels being a gutsy chance of being caught with the Empire... the next two days where going to be extremely dangerous. Raven was going to need to rely on all the luck, and the abilities she had with the Force, to get through this.

...

Stars were scattered everywhere as far as the eye could see. Some shinning brightly with new life and others dimly struggling to remain lit. The cycle of the stars was a slow but amazing process.

Vader stood tall with his hands held behind his back, as he gazed out of the large open window. This is where he usually stood, proud and strong, surveying the galaxy from his Star Destroyer.

_The Executor_ had been cruising in the Outer Rim for several days now. The Dark Lord felt impatient that his apprentice was still not back in his grasp. His rage continued to bubble up inside him ever so often. The Force around him would swirl and thump violently as Vader's mind dashed throughout the stresses of space, searching. He would return unsatisfied.

_She has grown stronger_... Her mind had completely sealed him off. He could not sense her anymore. But he wouldn't give up. She was out there. Hiding and waiting for him to fly by. But he would not move on so quickly. Hunting down his pray had always been his specialty. "Foolish girl." He whispered under his vented mask. He had to contain the anger that burned in his heart; the rage that wanted to lash out on her, strangle her, punish her... She had no right to runaway from him. She deserves to suffer and learn from her mistakes. No… He breathed deeply, pushing the clouding thoughts away from his mind. If I hurt her more, she will only continue to try and run away, and no progress will be made. Vader's gaze lowered as he still faced the open window of space. She will be punished, but she will learn to respect me.

Heels on the hard floor came up behind him. "Lord Vader."

"What is it, Admiral?"

"My Lord, there has been a report that an attack on Imperial Troops was made in the city of Mos Epsa on the Planet of Tatooine."

Vader's head rose slightly. On Tatooine...? He did not turn just yet.

"You will be pleased to know that after some investigations on the bodies, some of the wounds were possibly made by a blade..." The Admiral paused, as Vader turned around fully. "A blade similar to your weapon, My Lord."

_So.. you dare run and hide in the desert of Tatooine_. Vader felt his hands quivering as he clenched tightly. "Are there more troops searching throughout the city?" Vader questioned.

"Sir, there are over 200 troopers now positioned in the city and searching day and night."

"Double that amount. We may have found her yet." He turned away and stared back out to the stars. The Admiral bowed slightly to Darth Vader and swiftly walked away, back to his post.

_Is this where you are hiding, my apprentice?_ Again with eyes closed, Vader leaped across the ripples of space with the Force and searched among the dunes of the planet he had once forgotten. There came several faint vibes echoing back to him. Once he felt down on the small transport city of Mos Epsa... There you are. He felt her faint presence again at last.

Vader's eyes reopened and a small grin painfully stretched on his face under his dark mask. She couldn't run forever. He knew she would be desperate to get out of there. He had to move quickly before she got away again.

...

Raven awoke from a terrible nightmare. The Force was pressing down on her body, making it hard to breathe. Danger was lurking in her mind. It was time to get on the move.

Raven cautiously stepped outside of the slave house, caught by surprise from the raging winds and sand. As she peered around, no figures stood in the distance, only mere shadows of the rolling hills under the twilight. Raven skipped across the hot sand and came up to the shed. As she opened the door, she whispered softly, "It's ok, Mech. It's me." She closed the door behind her and came up to a rather large stack of boxes and crates. She began picking them up and moving them to the side. Underneath, Mech was seen lying on the ground, back behind his hidden shelter. She moved enough of the crates so that he could crawl out.

"I'm glad to be out of there." He said. Raven chuckled.

"Sorry, boy. I was hiding most of the day too."

Mech stared at his master with gleaming crimson eyes. "So what is the plan?"

"We're going to need to leave. It's too dangerous for the slaves to be sheltering us here. If we are discovered they will be killed for hiding traitors."

"Where will we go?"

"Shinaw suggested that I hide out in the pubs and stay on a low profile until tomorrow. We're going to need to build you a large half-a-box to hide in somewhere in the alleys until then. You won't be able to hide in the bar."

"Ok." Mech said, nodding his muzzle.

Raven took some of the empty boxes that were scattered in the shed and began to break them apart. Mech helped by plying out the metal bits that held the frames together. Then, laying the box sides out into one big piece, mech hammered the bits back into the sides at an angel to form one large sheet of plywood. "Alright, now where is that metal box cover you had?" Raven asked.

Mech gripped something with his jaws and pulled it out from behind more scraps. He stood it up perfectly on the other side of the plywood.

"We're going to need to melt down some grooves into the side of this thing in order to latch it to the wood." She looked up from the metal plate to Mech and grasped it up right, "Ready to use your lasers?" Mech let go of the plate and nodded. To one side, Mech stood, focusing his eyes straight on. A high-pitched humming sound was heard and the red beam shot out from his pupils. The process of carving out the grooves took a while. Raven waited patiently, holding up the metal side as Mech worked his way up with more grooves. Eventually, the three necessary sides of the plate were ready to hammer in to the plywood. With patient, the two worked together in the dark of the shed until a box was made. This box was missing a bottom and one side so that Mech could stay in it and have it propped up against a building.

"I dunno, Mech.." Raven said with slight doubt as she looked upon the final product. "If there aren't any other boxes lying around in the alley ways or streets, just one large box standing alone might look a bit suspicious."

"Perhaps." Mech said, as he too looked upon the box.

"Well, it's all we have. We need to get going. It's probably dark by now," Raven looked back to the door. "We need to take the box apart one last time to get it to fit through the door."

Raven opened the small door to the outside and was shocked how little light was seen around them. The stars looked faint above and only appeared to be white, paint splatters scattered over a dark canvas.

"Ok, hand me each piece."

Out loomed the grooved piece of metal through the door. "Careful, easy... I don't want to cut myself on this thing." Raven took a firm hold of both flat sides of the metal and pulled it out quickly. Once Mech let go, it immediately dropped into the sand. "Heavy.." Raven gasped, shaking her hands. "Next one." Out came the first piece of plywood. "Ok, got it." Then came the second. "Alright." The third came out and Mech did not hand it over. He wiggled himself free from the doorway and held it in his mouth.

"Mech, where is that tarp you had with the metal piece?"

Mech dropped his piece of plywood down on the other two to reply, "It's in the shed too. Back behind the scrap pile where I pulled out the metal."

"Good. I'm going to grab it and use it as my disguise. Could you start putting your box back together?"

"Yes." Mech said and the cables came out of his body like snakes, gripping tightly to two sides as he began to rebuild.

Raven slipped back into the shed and looked around. Her eyes hurt as they squinted in the dark. She moved carefully about the scraps until she found the back part of the shed. There, she felt around on the floor. Cloth material brushed past her finger tips and she smiled. "Got it." She snatched it eagerly and wiped it up. She held it over her shoulder as she retreated the shed for the last time.

"Wow." She gasped to see Mech had already put the box back together.

Mech turned and gave the best smile his metal jaws would allow him. "It's easier to make it a second time."

Raven laughed. "Good boy. I got the tarp. I think we are ready to go."

Mech cocked his head. "That's not the tarp. That's something smaller."

Raven frowned at her dog and threw the material off her shoulders, holding it up in front of her so she could see. "You're right... What is this?"

She took her hands and delicately turned it around. There was a hood attached to it and a slit that spread down the material. "It looks like a cloak." She smiled. "That works even better." Quickly, Raven slipped the hood on top of her head and rested the cape over her shoulders. She turned to Mech. "How does that look?"

Mech nodded twice. "It covers your hair and slightly hides your eyes. But it's a big too long."

Raven looked down and saw the cape touching the group in a clump. "Yes it is... Oh well, I only need it while we are here." She pushed the cape away from her arms and walked toward the box. "Let's get this mounted nicely on your back so that we can transport it to town."

Mech settled himself low to the ground and by using his cords and Raven's help, they lifted the box up and balanced it between his shoulders and spine. Raven propped it up while Mech stood up on all four. "Just keep a hold of the box with your cables. We'll try to move as quickly as possible so that we can get into town."

...

They had waited outside the town's boarders just down below some sandy hills. Storm Troopers had infested the city and were crawling all over the streets, still in pursuit. It was too dangerous to try and even walk in to town. Hardly any citizens were out and about, so there were no crowds to blend in with. Raven sighed heavily, lying down at the base of the hill. Mech lie beside her, listening and staying alert for sounds. There box lay with the open sides facing up in the sand.

"Perhaps we should just stay out here until it is time for me to meet up with Daom."

"That seems the most reasonable. But Raven, what will you eat?"

"I ate the rest of my food supply before I took a nap. I'm not going to be hungry for a while now."

"You will be by mid day tomorrow. And then you have to go a whole other day and night before Daom will be back." Mech said, staring at her with worried eyes.

Raven laughed. "Don't worry, Mech... God, you sound like my mother." Her smile faded and she put her head down on Mech's cold body. She had the cloak wrapped up around her. The desert could get so cold at night sometimes.

"I'm not hungry... but I do feel tired still."

"Why don't you rest a bit. I'll keep an eye out for anyone coming out of the city." Mech had stood now, and Raven's head bobbed back to leaning against the sand dune.

"It's ok, Mech.. I can stay awake a little longer."

Mech turned his head to look down at his master. He was about to argue against it, but her eyes were already shut. She had just about drifted off.

Mech blinked but said nothing. He trotted up the slope and lay low, watching the city boarder, paying close attention to the movement that was weaving in and out of the city streets.


	27. Trapped 2

All night. But all day? Not possible. The morning air had already burned off from the giant heat wave that was looming over. Illusions were dancing all along the horizon, some far and some so close, they were in reaching distance.

Raven sat glumly, still just below the sandy hill. Sweat dripped off of the tips of her hair and her nose. Her eyes stung with the salty droplets running downing her forehead. And the thirst... it was a terrible thirst. She knew she would die if she stayed out here all day. She needed to get into town and get hydrated.

"M..Mech..." Raven panted. Mech lifted his head where he lay. He had been worried about his master's condition for a while now. Her eerie voice only made his eyes widen. "Yes?" He asked.

"How many credits did... were you able to fit in?"

They both knew yesterday that they couldn't carry the large case of credits around with them. They were going to need to carry their disguises. But now, Raven wasn't sure that was the best idea. If they couldn't even sneak in at night, they wouldn't need the box. Raven had taken a handful of credits and stored them down in Mech's jaw casket. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Now Raven was considering having Mech go back and get the rest of it.

"I believe only 3,000 or so credits. Why?"

"That's plenty.. I need to try and go into town and get water... But you can't go with me.. you'll stand out. I need you to go back to the slave house and get the rest of our credits. We aren't going to need this box anymore."

Mech stood up immediately and opened his mouth for Raven. Carefully, Raven reached down his throat and felt for the latch that sealed off the casket. She pulled it open and took out a few credits. Counting them, she made sure she had enough to buy a few drinks of water in a bar. "Ok. I'm all set. But before you go, break down the box and cover it by the sand."

"Ok." Mech said. He walked up to the box and his laser gun came out of the slot on his back.

"Wait... just use your laser eyes.. That laser will make too much noise."

Mech nodded, withdrawing his weapon and began breaking off the wood with the small red lasers.

Raven stood up weakly and crawled up the sand hill. She peered out among the town. Several people were out and about, and no Storm Troopers could be seen. She needed to hide among the crowd and slip in to a bar. She would need to wear her cloak at all times. She didn't want anyone to recognize her. Sighing deeply, she pulled the cloak over her eyes and wrapped around the rest of her body. She then began to walk toward the city.

"Be careful." She heard her hound say.

She smiled. "You too."

The sand laid still all around her and bubbled under her heels. She could feel the heat through her leather boots. She wanted to rush for the comfort of the in doors. But she needed to move calmly. Nothing to hide.

As she drew closure to the town, she saw several people bunched together around some stands, people on large creatures transporting goods, and some people dragging along trailers of supplies. But no troopers were in sight. So far, so good. She glided into the surrounds of people and moved towards the alleyway. She didn't want to take any chances. She'd be more hidden in a smaller road. As she passed by two aliens having a rather loud conversation, she tipped her head up slightly to look where she was. Where was the closest bar? Her emotions were trying so hard to stir. She closed her eyes for a sec, breathing in. Opening her eyes again, she smothered her fears and walked on. She took a turn to the right and continued to look about. Something caught her eye, and she immediately moved cautiously to another alley. Two troopers, talking with another human had their backs to her just down the road. She slipped into another alley, panting. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. Concentrate. She moved on. Before she came to the opening of the alley, she heard voices on the radio. She halted before she stepped out into the open road, and turned her back away. More troops. Heavy foot falls walked down the road, the radio in their helmet buzzing with commentary. She waited for the radio's sound to be far off before she turned back around. Once the area seemed clear, she stepped out and looked around. Still no bar... Her heart was beating violently in her chest. She heard several voices coming up behind her. She turned to see a group of travelers together, talking loudly and excitedly among each other. It was quite a large crowd. Perfect. Raven slowly walked toward them and once she merged into their crowd, she turned and followed along with them.

As she walked with the travelers, she pretended to somewhat have interested in listening to a human woman next to her. The woman didn't even notice her; she was much too distracted talking with the blue skinned humanoid next to her. The two of them were laughing and shrieking with joy. Raven smiled in their general direction, keeping her eyes alert for more Imperial troops. It didn't take long until she noticed they were coming up to a small pub to their right. Raven hesitated as she looked around her; she noticed two troops way down the road who were talking to only among themselves. If she were to break from the group, she needed to be steady about it. Swiftly she got around the two girls she stood with and parted toward the bar. She quickly moved into the doorway and slipped into the dark room. A trembling sensation came over her and she backed up against the wall on the inside, looking out behind her for danger. No one seemed to notice a thing.

Raven turned and looked through out the bar, panting slightly. The bar was very small and not many people were in. The bar tender was busily cleaning out glasses behind the counter. One human was curled up at the bar, his head hovering lightly over his drink, as he stared into a hopeless nothing. The other people in the bar were scattered in either a single or groups of two. She wasn't going to blend well here. _I need to move on._

Just as Raven turned back to look out the doorway, she nearly collided with a white chest in front of her. She gasped as she stood face to face with a Storm Trooper. He hardly looked at her for a second before he gasped. "I thought I recognized that blue hair."

Immediately, Raven ducked low and ran to escape under his out stretched arms that attempted to seize her. She dodged his hands and slipped around him, only to be caught by her cape around her neck.

"Gotcha!" The Trooper pulled back on the cape to bring her close. Raven, ripped the cape free from her neck and pushed herself forward into a run.

"Stop!" The trooper yelled. Seconds after her escape, his gun was out and two lasers were shot at her. They came too close to hitting her. She sprinted forward where the other troopers use to be and made a harsh turn into the alley. This was it. They were onto her. Now she was wide open and on the run.

"Where do I go?" Raven pleaded frantically. She ran as fast as her short legs would allow her. She had to get out of sight. She needed to hide and stay hidden for another whole day. Was that even possible? She had been seen now. The troopers were going to start swarming any minute. Her heart was seizing with fear as she came out onto another street.

_Wait, the transports center... the Rave club! _It might be her only chance. If she could get there before she was seen again, she could possibly hide there until Daom came for her. She sharply turned down the sandy road and ran towards her new destination. She passed citizens, almost running into many of them. Several of them yelled at her to be careful, cussed in other dialects and grunted angerily. It wasnt until she bumbed into another person and she heard them cry out. "It's her! She's here!"

_Shit.. Shit, shit, shit!_

How could the other people recognize her? Had the Empire made her a wanted criminal? _I gotta get out of here!_

Raven came to the transport center and found it crowding with people. Wonderful place to disappear in. She ran in, pushing as hard as she could to make it through the people. More of them yelled at her, but they seemed to busy to look who was coming though. She wiped around violently as she jumped through the flocks of bodies. _Where is that door? Where IS IT? _Then as two bodies moved away from the wall, she could see it in view. Like a current, Raven fought through the opposite flow of traffic, as if she were swimming for her life. She was swimming for her life. She came close to the door and reached for the handle, only to be roughly pushed back by more people. Frustrated and paniced, Raven lowered her shoulder in an angle to plow through. She rammed several people until she reached the door. She clawed at it to open and slipped through, partly ignoring the anger calls: "What's the big idea? Where the fuck do you think you are going?" To her relief, that person she rudely shoved did not follow her. She was now in the long hallway, which was dimly light. She quickly ran down to the other door and pulled on it. To her surprise, she was lurched back into place and the door stood firmly shut.

"..._Locked_?" Raven gasped in horror. She pulled again. It did not budge.

"No! It can't be locked! God damn it, it can't!"

She continued to struggle with the door. It refused to open. She reached for her light saber at her waste, but then she began thinking: If the door was broken down with her weapon, she won't be able to hide here. It would be much too obvious.

She turned back to the other door and quickly ran to it. She found a keypad next to it. There was a button on it that said 'lock'. She pressed it and tried to open the door. It held fast. Great. As she headed back to the other door, she began thinking it had a similar keypad that locked it on the other side of the wall. If she could wire the keys in the door without making it look too obvious.. She came up to the handle and took a good look at it. There were indents along the side of it and bolts near the base. She took her fingernail and tried to unscrew it out with a twist. She became started to a loud bang on the other door down the hall. Someone was trying to get in. She whipped her head around as she heard a body slamming on the door and wiggling the handle to try and get it open. Raven became flushed. She was almost sure that wasn't good company. She turned back to the handle and quickly tried to wedge her fingernail back in the bolt. She kept slipping… she was trembling madly.

"Open this door!" Came a yell from the outside door.

"Not now…" Raven whispered desperately.

At that moment, a memory came to her mind. She saw a face of a boy in front of her. A loving face from so long ago. He looked so sad but at the same time, so happy. She remembered this.

Austin was holding a bundle of flowers. Raven held the handle to her suitcase at her side as she stared at him. This boy, forever her best friend, and for only a brief time, her lover, had come to wish her farewell to the United States. The both of them did not wish for her to go. They did not want to be separated. They were all they had left to love.

"I hope you find a good school in America so you can become a great engineer."

"To hell with that. Wot I want is to stay in England. I don' want to go over seas. I don't want to be so far away from you, Austin."

"Hey there, love. No fuss." He had her chin in his hands. "I bet we'll see each other again. Our paths are bound to cross again." He smiled. "I know you. You can't abandon this place. You're bound to come back."

Raven was silent.

"We'll see each other again." Austin's face was melting away.

Raven's eyes filled with tears. "Austin.."

The door to the main area of the transport station slammed open. Two storm troopers came running in, their guns held high. "Don't move!"

"Austin!" Raven was clawing at the door, trying to get to that fading memory in her mind.

The troopers came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. She struggled violently, reaching for the door. "Set your blaster to stun, give her a hit" The trooper who had the better grip on her yelled. The other trooper adjusted the control. Raven flailed madly, shrieking at the top of her lungs. "Austin! AUSTIN! You promised me!"

The trooper aimed his gun at her chest. The trigger was pulled and Raven's body instantly went into a state of paralisis. Her mind was blanking out. Still she could see those green eyes of the boy she once loved still there. She could not reach for him. She could not call to him. She only watched in shock as he slipped away from her, as if the very memory of him had disappeared. She knew now it was all over. There was no hope for a new life. She was a prisoner yet again.


	28. Trapped 3

"Let me go, god damnit!"

"Restrain her."

"DAMNIT, Let GO!"

"Ah fuck! She bit me! You little bitch!"

"I don't want-"

"There, that'll keep her shut up and still for a while.."

...

She had awoken here. Alone in an unfamiliar room. This room had a deep emptiness to it that made her insides rot. And that window...

Across from where she sat was a large window that opened up the vast galaxy before her. The moment she saw those stars and the black vacuum of nothing, she knew it was done. She had known it was done, but deep down she had denied it. She had wanted to wake up from this nightmare for so long. She wanted to walk back up on her coach in her small home and go to school the next day. But with the evidence in front of her, displayed in the geometric configuration that was the galaxy, it would never happen. Then the fear began to build up in side her. She didn't know what was going to happen to her. She didn't know where she was.

_Where are you? _She chuckled miserably to herself._ You're back in his hands._

But this fear began to feed the hate that was woven deep down. Hatred of what had become of this so-called destiny she had. Did destiny even exist? Was destiny just another conspiracy that people made them believe in so that they would feel important and comforted? She let out a groan of discussed.

Her legs sprawled out on the floor, as she remained leaned up against the wall of this wide spread room. She glanced over to the bed that looked like it had never been slept in. Never been used. She could only concentrate on the simplicity of it for so long, before a tear came rolling down her bruised cheek.

"Mech..." She whispered. Her hound, for all she knew, remained hidden in the deserts just out side Mos Epsa. What had become of him? In the time that she could have possibly been knocked out, he could have been discovered by some thugs, captured and shipped away. Or the Empire might have discovered him, taken him away like her, and destroyed. But of course, a good possibility was he was still out there, lurking in the sand dunes, worried with his master's absence. She had hoped that is what had become of him. She would never forgive herself if something bad had happen to him. If something did happen to him, what better of a master would she be then...

She closed her eyes tightly, breathing in deeply. She did not want to be here. And just like the first time she had arrived in this trapped situation, she felt like death would be much more comforting. But death was no option. They had taken her light saber away. They had isolated her in a room that had nothing but a bed, a table, lights up on the ceiling and two doors which were both locked. She could just easily bash her head in the wall or on that table. But how hard would she have to hit to make her skull crack? Just the idea made her shiver. No, death is still not an option.

Suddenly, there was movement out behind the door next to her. She stirred to listen, focusing in with the Force.

Footsteps were coming down a hall, echoing harshly on all sides. She quickly got to her feet and backed up to the center of the room, just as the presence stood just behind the door. She knew that presence. She could feel the dark aura leaking under through the cracks of the door and slowly invading her space, even before he came in.

The door opened swiftly to the side. The dark figure stood tall in the doorway, very still. Raven swallowed hard, her heartbeat thumping in her throat. Neither of them moved, only stared. They both could feel the Force pulsing off one another. Both felt anger. One felt fear, and the other pain.

"My lord." It was almost a whisper that came from Raven's lips. She was quivering.

Darth Vader lurked his way into the room, his features on his masked face became clear in the light. He stood before Raven a few feet away. Raven took notice at his very tall stance and his clenched fists at his side. She could feel the rage emitting from his body, like the heat from a fire. Though his rage seemed so aggressive, he did not attack in any way. He said nothing and made no movement. He only stared down into Raven's fearful eyes. She felt his anger drowning her. But she fought back, for she felt a rage too. There was some unjust to this being back here, imprisoned. But her master probably thought nothing of it. Why would he?

"You've caused me a lot of trouble." Vader spoke suddenly. His voice was on a harsh edge. Raven had imagined him sneering this with clenched teeth. She dared not reply, but only lowered her head slightly.

Vader then took his gaze down at his side. His mood was changing back in forth between bottled fury and suffering pain. She wondered what the pain was.

Vader spoke again. "What gave you the idea to leave?" He was still clenching those teeth.

"I didn't want to stay here. I didn't want to be here for the rest of my life."

Vader's fist clenched tighter, the rubber glove rubbing against itself loudly. Raven's body began to tense up.

"Do you think that gave you the right to leave?"

"I wanted to leave, so I did." Raven paused, feeling suffocated by the tension in the air. But she could feel her own rage urging her to fight him. "I can't be kept here like a prisoner."

Vader quickly lunged toward the girl and seized her by the hair on the back of her head. "Awh!" He pulled her head back tightly, straining her neck so that her face would be looking straight up into his.

"Whether you like it or not, you are my prisoner. You cannot leave with out my permission. You belong to _me_."

Raven felt the tears of pain coming to the corners of her eyes. Her teeth gnashed as she spat back up at him. "I never wanted to belong to you! I just want to live my life."

"You can't anymore. You are in a new reality, so wake up to it."

"Damn you!" Raven gasped from Vader's pulling grip. "It's not fair! I lost my planet and now I'm expected to be your slave? Do you not see how sick and inhumane that fucking is?"

Vader growled under his mask and tossed Raven away from him. She stumbled back, placing both hands where her hair was pulled, glaring over at him.

"You are not my slave; you are my apprentice. And as your master, you will do everything I say." Vader returned to his tall stance. "You may not realize it now, but I am keeping you here for your own good. Your kind does not belong in our world. It could easily destroy you. I am keeping you here to make you strong, so that you can survive."

"I was doing fine without you! I was about to start a new successful life on my own." Raven said loudly. Her frustration was building, replacing her fear.

"You would have not made it far." Vader's voice was growing lower. Was he backing down?

"I would be fine, no thanks to you and your goons."

Vader stared into her. His deep breathing began to slow down as he worked to regain his composure.

"The Emperor would have destroyed you. If he knew about you, you would have no chance."

"Chance? What chance? I still have no chance!" Raven's anger had consumed her. She was ready to let it out. "I have no chance for a future. My life is ruined. And it's all thanks to you and your damn Empire. Everything I knew is now gone, blown up by the command of a single voice. Whose voice? Who fucking cares? My planet is gone, my friends are gone, my everything is gone! I wanted to be a professional mechanic once I finished school. Wanted to go to a nice college, get my master's and build stuff all the time. And then when I'm sick of building, I would dance. But no! I had to come here and be your warrior apprentice. I don't want to be a Jedi or a Sith or whatever! I just want my life back..." She was sobbing now. Her heels had backed her up to the opposite side of the wall, where she leaned against it for support. Her chest heaved as her emotions spilled out violently. Her eyes burned of salty tears and her lip quivered as she moaned in agony. "I want it back.. I want it back.."

Vader stood still once again, watching her as she slowly fell apart. This girl who had held in all the anxiety and trauma for so long had let the rest of it out. She could not fight it anymore. After seeing her vision just before they took her away, the terrible pain had returned. She couldn't believe it was all gone. He was gone.

As she continued to weep, she felt the sudden shift of the atmosphere around her. The Force felt calm now in the room. Vader's aura was suddenly soothing. She could still sense the pain, but his anger was completely absorbed away. He lowered his gaze on her as she struggled to gain control of herself.

"I have wanted many things to return." Vader breathed, his respirator pumping the air through his lungs.

Raven only glanced at him from the corner of her eye, still sniffling and shaking. Vader then let out his presence in the Force towards her. It shifted around her as it touched her presence. The two slowly merged as their thoughts locked.

_You don't need to dwell on the past anymore. What happened, happened._

Raven looked down at her feet, brushing the last remaining tears away from her eyes.

_'Why did you let my planet be destroyed?'_

_'It was not my choice nor in my power to do anything about it. It was the Emperor's command.'_

Raven still felt some anger and frustration stirring inside. But she decided to push it away for now. Vader continued to speak to her through the Force.

_'I have a plan to make everything better. I am going to make this Empire the way it should have been. And I need you to help me.'_

_'Why me?'_

_Because you and I both had experiences that will help drive us for a change._

Raven now stared directly in her master's direction, confused. She opened her mouth to say something, but Vader shook his head.

_'No... no need to speak of it now.'_

Raven closed her mouth and stared down at Vader's feet. The comfort she felt from his presence began to loosen her tension. She stared at his boots, thinking.

_'There was another reason why you ran away from me.'_

Raven quickly looked back up into his face, her expression going blank.

_'You were afraid of something.'_

_'Sure... I was afraid of you. I was afraid of what you had in store for me.'_

_'Then why did you have those dreams?'_

Raven's heartbeat began to pump again.

_'Those dreams...'_ She repeated.

_'Your dreams suggested that perhaps you were afraid of being close to me.'_

The atmosphere began to press down again. It was not like before. It still felt comforting, but perhaps too comforting.

_'I don't know what you mean.'_

"Are you sure about that?" Vader's deep voice spoke through his mask.

That old familiar feeling began to swim around in Raven's chest. The aura pulsing from Vader was becoming something else. It felt strong, powering, but it also felt intimidating. And yet, it gave her no fear of harm. But she was afraid. She was afraid that this feeling was trying to surface. She quivered softly, as the back of her neck became prickled with chills. She could feel Vader staring into her mind, reading this conflicting error. She did not want to let that feeling out again… the feeling of lust. Raven's eyes moved to the eyes of Vader's mask. She searched deeply into his feelings, seeing how he was reacting to it. She was taken by surprise. _What...?_

Vader stepped toward her until he stood inches away. She felt nervous, being so close to him again and against the wall. She continued to look up into his face, confused by the messages he was giving her. The pulsing aura of the Force was weaving between their bodies. She felt it brushing past her arms and legs, caressing her sides, her cheeks and lips. This feeling... why did it still wish to come out? Why was he pursuing it?

_'Why are you trying to hide what is so obvious to me now?' _Vader let out a slow breath. His breath made the Force around Raven's body intensify. She felt it pressing on her sensitive areas and she gasped. She felt him smiling on her now. Why was he doing this to her? But her confusion wasn't enough. The feeling had eaten her down and she could not hold back any longer. She reached out and gripped Vader's black cloak that hung around his sides. In that instant, he gripped her sides and pulled her up high close to him. He lifted her with such ease and pressed her up to the wall. He held her slightly higher than where he stood, his breathing becoming faster. She breathed with him, feeling excitement rushing over her. He held her there between his chest and the wall and his hands moved up her sides. He caressed her breasts tightly, sending more chills through her body. The Force began to strike nerves all throughout her system. She felt pleasure everywhere as he used the Force to seduce her. He was barely physically touching her, but with the Force, she felt like a thousand hands were rubbing her, feeling her, pleasing her. Her eyes closed slowly as she placed her hands on his large shoulders. This feeling was electrifying. It made every sense she had burst to life. She wanted more. Her lips parted as she brought her face closer to Vader's. Her forehead touched his as she gasped with easing pleasure.

_'Do you like it?'_ Vader said in her mind, almost in a whisper.

She nodded slowly. She could almost she the pleased grin on his face through his black helmet. He then scooped her up and held her around his waist as he brought her away from the wall. She held on tightly, her heart racing. In the back of her mind, she had an idea of where this was going to go. But part of her couldn't fully grasp that truth.

Vader walked towards the other door. His mind moved away from her's for a second so that he could use it to open the sliding door to another room. Vader stopped where he was, looking forward as he held his apprentice to him. Raven looked over her shoulder to get a good look at the room. The room was much darker, had much more open space then the other room. In the center of the room was a large, metal shaped cocoon, and around it were low glowing lights on the side of a platform that it stood upon. The machine was split into two, like an eggshell and revealed a chamber within. The inside of it was lit up and a rather large, one-person seat was centered in the middle. Raven stared at it, the small feeling of fear was trying to boil its way back inside her. What was it? Vader brought them over to it and placed Raven down to his side, still holding her close to his body.

"This is my hyperbaric chamber." He spoke aloud to her.

Raven held onto Vader's cloak that draped down his side. "So you seal yourself in and it fills up with oxygen?"

"Yes. Pure and concentrated oxygen. In this room, I can breathe without my suit."

Raven looked up at him, eyeing his mask. She could hear the respirator in his throat painfully rattling as he breathed in. She then looked down at the box on his chest; the heart of his machine.

With grace, Vader moved away from his apprentice and stepped up into the chamber. He sat himself down in the large chair, placing both hands on the armrests. "Once this chamber seals shut, I will be able to shut down my suit, and remove any part of it." His mask lowered a bit, as he eyed Raven, who had not moved from where she was placed.

"You mean-" Raven began, but Vader lifted a hand and the Force rushed her over to him like a gust of wind. She halted just above him from where he sat. Her face flushed.

_'It will be a tight fit, but you can sit in here with me.' _Vader said in her head, sounding a bit pretentious. His hand came around on her back and he pulled her down into his lap. He took his other hand, and punched a button on a keypad that was on one of his armrests. A sound of machinery hissed around them and the chamber closed down.

Raven nervously remained where she was held, looking above her at the wiring above them. She placed her hands back on her master's shoulders, waiting for a sign that the oxygen was being released.

_'Don't worry. The oxygen is strong, but it will only make you light headed.'_ He told her.

Another hiss was heard and the sound of gas began to pour out all around them from below. Raven looked down at the floor in the chamber and took in a deep breath. It was very concentrated.

_'How long does it take for the chamber to fill up?' _Raven asked in her mind.

_'Patience.'_ Vader replied to her, a grin could be sensed forming on his hidden face.

Raven swallowed and continued to breathe in slow and small amounts. She could feel the air becoming thicker in her lungs. She shook her head slightly as a sharp pain came to her brain.

_'It will pass.' _Vader reassured her.

A few moments later and the sound of the gas pressure began to quiet and slow down. Vader then reached for the box on his chest. He pressed two switches and the sound of air released harshly from his mask. He then inhaled deeply and nodded once.

A casket opened above them suddenly and Raven flinched in surprise. Out the casket came a metal claw, lowering down just below Vader's head. Quickly, Vader looked up and raised a gloved hand to repel it. "No!" His deep voice commanded. Raven could feel the energy of the Force pulsing from his palm up against robotic arm. The claw stopped where it was, paused, and then retreated back to its container.

_'What is that?'_ Raven asked.

_'It's suppose to remove my mask automatically when I am in here.'_

Raven paused, looking about him curiously. _'You're not going to take off your mask?'_ Her hands came up and she held them out to his face. She was shocked when Vader grabbed her wrists roughly to stop her.

_'No..' _he said softly. _'This face behind the mask is not mine. The mask you see is who I am.'_

Raven held her breath. She desperately wanted to know what her master looked like under his disguise. But his words made her think he must truly be something obscene under his mask. She wanted to ask him more about it, but the sudden Force around her began to strike her nerves again. She gasped again, her body tensing up in response.

_'Relax...'_ Vader told her, moving his hands off of her wrists and began to touch her chest again. _'Don't fight it. Just give in.'_

Raven shook with the excitement again. But she had trouble relaxing. She had not been touched in such a way for a very long time. Vader's gloved fingers traced each curve on her body as he continued to send her feeds of pleasure in his Force. It began to feel stronger, as it began to focus in on her sensitive nerves. Raven's lips parted as her back arched in reaction to her firing senses. Vader then took one of his hands and moved down to his waist. Raven took her eyes off of him as she looked up above her into one of the lights that was beaming down on her. Her body quivered as the pleasure swelled in her. She closed her eyes, biting down on her lower lip, trying to hold in her excitement. She recognized this sense of being so similar to her dreams. The dark closed in area, the light shining down on her, the feeling of pleasure swirling around her in the Force. But it was real now.

She felt Vader's hand reach up her tunic and grip the leggings around her waist. He pulled them down her legs until they were down to her knees, and just against his thighs. He then took his same hand and placed it on her upper back, pushing her down onto him.

"Ah!" Raven let out a small cry. There was some sharp pain that struck through her.

Vader held her still, as Raven gasped a bit. It did not feel like flesh. It was not warm. But the pleasure was still feeding through her in waves. Vader brought his grip down on Raven's hips and rocked her back and forth. She trembled as the pleasure, now physical and mental warmed her senses and began to raise her temperature. She wrapped her arms around her master's neck and placed her head down on his left shoulder for support. She was trying so hard to contain her excitement, as she bit down on her lower lip. She felt like bolts of lightning were shocking her whole body.

Vader only pushed her faster and his energy of the Force was swirling stronger. She could not hold it in. Her mouth opened as she gasped loudly. The mix of the high oxygen, the pleasure of the Force, and the physical touches made her head spin. The lights were blurring together and the shapes of the chamber appeared soft. Her whole body was beginning to go numb. The feeling that had haunted her since the day of her arrival to this new world, now fed hungrily on its desire. It was finally being satisfied.

...

Tired red eyes opened to an empty room. It was the same room she had woken up in before, but now her body lay on the large, once untouched bed with her head tilted to the side. She remained where she was, staring at the wall across the room sideways. She didn't wish to move. She could feel her lower body was very soar. Slowly, she wandered the room with the Force. She could sense his presence still near. She should have figured as much.

Raven struggled to sit up, but her body trembled with exhaustion. She turned to see Vader was standing next to the large window. He had turned his gaze towards her. She could hear the respirator as he breathed.

"You need to rest." He told her.

"How did I get..?" Raven began to ask, putting her hand to her face and rubbing her eyes.

"You passed out. The oxygen level was too high for you. You've only been out for two hours."

"The oxygen..?" Raven looked down at the bed. "That wasn't a dream."

Vader remained silent. The aura felt slightly awkward.

"Now what?" She asked, still looking down at the folds in the sheets and gnawing slightly on her lower lip.

"Now... now you are aboard my Star Destroyer. Now we are on the course heading towards the Death Star."

Raven looked up, frowning. That wasn't the answer she was looking for. "Please... I don't want to go back there."

"You won't be." Vader turned to look out the window. "I can't leave you alone anymore. You've lost my trust. For now on, you will remain with me until I know for sure you won't try to leave again."

"I won't" Raven replied, much quicker than expected. She was a bit surprised she said it with such ease.

Vader turned back to her, watching her suspiciously. "You will remain on my Star Destroyer. I will complete your training, and then you will travel with me. But for now, I have work to do. You will stay here and practice your training, and when I come back, you will be taught something new."

"So I have to stay in this room?" Raven asked feeling a bit frustrated.

"For now..." Vader walked over to the bed and stood above her. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face up at him. "You will have to work hard before you regain my trust. But once you do, I can let you move about as you wish."

"What do I have to do?" Raven asked.

"Prove to me that where ever you may go, you'll return to me." Vader let her chin go. Vader's mind came into hers. _'You belong to me. I need to know that you acknowledge this.'_

Raven looked back down, trying to hide her frustration. _'I still don't understand what you need me for.'_

'_I need you to help me make this galaxy a better place.'_

Raven looked back up to him, curiously. _'The Emperor had promised me many changes when I became his apprentice long ago. But so far, none of those promises have been fulfilled, and all the changes have been for the worst. I had a vision for this galaxy, but he has other plans in stored. I wish to replace him, as the rightful ruler of this galaxy.'_ His voice in her head was full of anger and determination. _'But ever since he put me in this suit, my power is limited. I cannot overpower him. But if I have you, if I teach you everything I know… together, we can replace him and rule his throne.'_

Raven shivered a bit from his words. She liked the idea of making the Empire better. But she did not know if Vader's idea of a better Empire was the same as hers. But there was a part of her that didn't wish to resist. A strange sense of loyalty that was not there before now urged her to take his offering hand and help.

"Okay." She said simply.

Vader nodded his head once. "Rest. I will return." He turned back to her before he went for the door. _'One last thing. The Emperor still has no idea of your existence. Your strength in the Force is not enough to allow him to sense you. Practice sealing your mind off to outside forces and containing your thoughts. If he ever discovered you when you become more powerful, my plan will not work.'_

'_I understand.' _Raven replied.

Vader then turned, his cape whipping around him, and he left through the door. Raven heard the door seal and lock behind him.

With a sigh she flopped herself back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The question still remained: What now?

So many things have shifted her mindset. He had stolen her away only a couple hours ago. That feeling had come out fully; she could not trap it back in now. She closed her eyes and put her hands to her forehead, wallowing in her confusion. Was she going to really help him take on the Emperor? Was she really going to stay with him now? She felt so lost. The moment they were together in the chamber, she was blind. She thought that he had similar feelings like she did. But now, she wasn't so sure.

'You followed your senses.' The Force whispered to her.

"My senses are going to get me in trouble." She mouthed back.

'But you know this is something that you wanted'

Raven sighed. She couldn't deny that anymore. Ok, she thought. _I will try this out. I will try and put my loyalty to him._ What other choice did she have? After what happened, there was really no choice but to move on for a new future. A future that she didn't necessarily expect or completely want, but the only future she was being offered at this point.

"Fate, you really do exist, don't you? If this is you telling me I have an incredible gift I never knew about and I'm destined to pursue it, you have a sick way of playing it out." She spoke aloud to the ceiling.

With that, she rolled over on her side, and closed her eyes. She began to breathe deeply and vision the white vapor of the Force swirling about her as she meditated. The white ripples soothed her confusion and pushed all questions from her mind. The perfect way to lull herself to sleep. Once she rested up, however, she was determined to regain Mech at her side. She was nothing without her companion. She would ask her Master about him when he returned.


	29. Trapped 4

Awoke. Laid in the bed, staring at the ceiling, fell back to sleep.

Dream. Walking through that dark tunnel. But no light.

Awoke. Stare at the ceiling a little longer, before nodding off again.

Dreaming again. Stuck in a room full of too much light. Can't see anything. Just as bad as being in total darkness.

Awoke. Blink sleepily at the metal ceiling above.

Raven couldn't really tell if she was dreaming still. She felt so tired, but could not rest. Her mind continued wanting to think and think and think.. but what was there left to think about?

"Please.." She whispered to herself. "Just fall asleep.. and stay asleep."

The white vapor was floating above her like a cloud.

"Please, please.." She continued to repeat softly.

'You must still be grieving..'

"No. There is nothing left to grieve about."

'Of course there is.' The Force said, moving closer to her body.

"There is not. Like he said... What happened, happened."

'You are not grieving about your lose. You are grieving about getting hurt again.'

Raven slowly opened her eyes, and the vision of the Force vanished, replaced by that old, familiar ceiling.

"Is he just using me? Is he using my feelings to control me?"

'That is for you to decide... The question is, ...Are you okay with that?'

Raven rolled onto her stomach, now hiding her face in the pillows. "I don't know anymore..."

She lay there, thinking more. She wanted to find the off switch on her mind and shut it off. She wasn't doing herself any good dwelling on something she didn't have enough evidence for. At this point, she needed to block it all out. She needed to be stronger with shutting out her emotions and her thoughts.

Raven quickly sat up. _The Emperor... _Vader had said if he discovered her, his plan would not work. That he would destroy her if he knew she was here. Alright, she thought. I have no proof that what Vader said is false. So I'm going to play it safe and assume this is a big threat. I need to train. I need to get stronger. She jumped off the bed.

She had no lightsaber... she would have to practice her moves without it. It would feel weird not wielding the weapon while she did this, but it had to be done. She had nothing better to do while she waited.

Jumps.

Spins.

Strikes.

Reputation, reputation.

She continued to work, until she gasped for breath. Then she would rest a few minutes, then continue again.

She had no way of keeping track of time, but she guessed this went on for about two hours, until she had completely exhausted herself.

Walking to the side of the wall, she placed a hand to it for support, and stretched her legs. Good, she thought, now that I am physically exhausted, maybe I can rest more. Plopping down on the bed on her stomach, she sighed deeply. Before she knew it, she was out again.

…

Vast fields of dark blue and black. The sun was barely visible over the horizon. The wind was whipping her hard in the face.

Raven was upon her mechanical hound's back as he raced through the dark, grassy plains. There was something very off about Mech's running. He was struggling, as if he was desperately trying to go as fast as possible. _Look back... _Raven glanced over her shoulder.

Shadows. Large shadows jumping through the fields behind them. She gasped, realizing as she stared longer that those shadows were the images of Kangaroos. Just like... Psycho.

She turned back to look down at Mech and shouted, "Why are you running? They won't hurt you!" Of course, she wasn't sure of this.

"They are running too!" Mech barked back.

"Running from what?"

"Can't you feel it?" Mech whimpered loudly. He had much fear in his voice. This bothered Raven greatly. Her hound had never expressed fear before.

'_**Who is this I sense?'**_

Raven whipped her head around again. She felt it. There was a presence that was lingering behind them. The moment she sensed it, she felt that terrifying urge to run.

'_What... is that?'_

She could feel it pulsing and raging. She could tell it sensed her. But it could not reach her. This anger... It wanted so badly to get her.

"MECH!" Raven shouted in panic.

Mech did not answer; he only continued to sprint as fast as he possibly could, away from this pulsing rage that was following closely behind.

"Mech, what is it?"

Immediately, Mech's back legs gave out on him and he went flying face down into the earth. Raven screamed as she was launched off his back, skidding and rolling several feet away from her hound. She did not feel any pain. She easily stood back up, the fear still gnawing at her insides. As she stood, she saw the shadows of the Kangaroos rush passed her, not even flinching at her fall. She turned to see her hound suddenly being broken into pieces by an invisible force. His bolts, cables, parts, everything was being ripped off of him. He howled at Raven. "GO! Go before it catches you too!"

Raven wanted to stay and help her hound. But how could she? She didn't understand what it was that got him, nor did she understand why the fear was pushing her to run so desperately. She turned on her heels and started sprinting the other way, her eyes burning and watering.

"Mech, I'm sorry!" She yelled as she ran. Her heart beat furiously with anxiety as it also ached with pain. "I'm sorry!"

The dark field around her began to blur as she ran. She could feel the anger of this aura building as it began to come after her. "No!"

…

"I'm sorry!" Raven awoke in a drench sweat, shouting at the ceiling.

She then lay still, panting, wandering about the room with her senses. She locked on a presence coming towards her. She immediately sat up as the door opened.

"Raven." It was the last familiar face she had expected to see.

"Casco!"

Sure enough, Casco, the old mechanic back on the Death Star walked in. Raven sighed with a relief.

"I've been ordered to take you to your droid's remains."

Raven's soft smile that had appeared in the sight of a friend, faded. Her eyebrows firmed down in concern. "Remains?" She fell silent.

Casco was looking at her with a look that didn't seem very approving. The look in his eye told her he felt betrayed and frustrated. Raven swallowed a lump forming in her throat. She choked out, "Mech..?"

"Yeah.. he's in pieces." Casco's voice sounded sour.

Raven's air felt thin in her lungs. "Mech..." She put her hand to her face, trying to hold back any obvious signs of pain. "Oh god.."

Casco looked away and down at the ground, still frowning. "Come on. I'll take you to him." Raven saw a blaster in his hand as he gestured out the door. Raven's gaze became heavy.

Raven knew now why he was acting like this. She and him had become good friends. Two mechanics that worked together in the mechanic room, as Raven worked several months constructing Mech. But now, things were different. She had killed several Imperial members in order to run away. Who was she now to a loyal worker of the Empire? A dangerous traitor, perhaps...

Casco followed her down the hallway with his gun aimed low but ready. There foot falls clanged on the metal floor as Casco told her which way to go. Raven did not know anything of this ship. Vader had said she was on his personal vessel, a star destroyer. Well, at least it isn't as big as the Death Star.

"We're coming up on a tee in the hallway. Take a left and go into the elevator."

Raven obeyed his command. Her body ached with agony. She felt terrible and so guilty. Oh Mech.. I let this happen. I let them hurt you. Raven felt tears trying to escape her eyes. She sniffed them away, taking her hand and wiping her face.

"Keep your hands at your sides." Casco growled.

"..Ok..." Raven said softly, choking on her tears. That painful thought of losing everything was returning again. Now, she was sure she lost her companion, and a good acquaintance from the Death Star. She couldn't think how it could get any worse. She bit down on her lower lip, keeping sounds of whimpers and pain escaping her lips. _Not here... I don't want to break down right here. I need to wait and be alone._

Raven came to the tee and turned to the left. She walked up to the elevator and it automatically opened for her. She stepped on, holding her head low. Casco entered next to her and hit a button on the side.

"We have to make this quick." Casco said. "I was ordered to not keep you out of Lord Vader's quarters for too long. But he said you must see Mech."

Raven did not respond, only continued to stare at her feet. She struggled to concentrate her energy so that she could hold her composure.

Her dream... had it given her a glimpse of the future to let her know what had happened to Mech? She prayed that whatever she was running from.. that raging presence.. was not real. She did not want it to be. _May it stay just a fear made up in my head._

The elevator came to a halt and the door slide open.

"Let's go. It's the second room on the right."

Raven slowly stepped out of the elevator and headed straight for the room. Even with her head still low, she saw it through her messed up, blue hair in her face. She came up to it and waited. Casco punched in a five number code on the control box next to the door and it clicked open. The door slid to the side.

The room appeared to be a small storage room. Several boxes were stacked all along the walls. A table bolted in the floor was in the center of the room under a low light. There on top, Mech lay.

Raven let out a soft, sudden cry at the slight. She could clearly see several blast holes in his interior section. Cables were mangled, one of his eyes were shot out, three of his limbs had been taken off, and his lower jaw was dislocated.

Raven rushed over to him, falling on her knees next to her lifeless robot. Her soft cries lingered in the small space. "Why... what did they do to him?"

Casco gave a sigh before he answered. "Shortly after they found you, they found him lingering in the desert dunes outside of Mos Epsa. Said he gave them a good fight before they took him down. They couldn't figure how to shut him off. They blasted his head, but could not break through his armor. Finally, they shot off most of his limbs to keep him from murdering all of the troopers. He killed half of a platoon. Then.. they got a shot at his core and that shut him down..." He stopped, as Raven's cries became louder. He then continued after a pause. "They messaged me, saying they got most of the parts gathered and said I was in charge of holding him until I got further instructions. Then Lord Vader came to me personally and said I would have to fix him when the time was right and take out most of his weaponry that you put in him."

Raven sniffled back her sobs. "When... when are you.. going to fix him?"

"I don't know.. until I am ordered to."

Raven placed a hand softly on Mech's head. She stared into his one good eye. The red lens was dark and still. She placed her head down on his, shuddering. "Mech.. I'm.. I'm so sorry." She then closed her eyes and kissed him softly. "I hope you can... somehow... forgive me."


	30. Trapped 5

"Your thoughts are clouded..."

"I know..." Raven said softly, looking at the ground.

"Clear your mind."

"I've been trying, believe me." She felt her hand clench into a fist, trying to fight back her emotions. She could not stop beating herself up over her loss of Mech. She had made a promise to come back for him... and she didn't. She couldn't keep her word.

"Stop thinking about your faults!" Darth Vader snapped at her. She jumped, realizing he was now looming right in front of her face. With a gasp of air, Raven nodded.

Vader then stood himself at full height again and began to walk about the room, his arms folded behind his back. "You need to keep your mind clear of distraction. You need to train yourself more. Block out these emotions. If you don't, the Emperor will sense you."

"I know, Master.." Raven whispered softly.

Vader stopped his pacing and looked to his young apprentice. She could tell he was very much bothered by her state.

"What happened to you..." Vader said, his voice deep and bitter.

"I don't.." Raven began.

"I use to be able to sense strength in you. Even when I first saw you, you were devastated from the lose of your planet. And yet, confidence and power still lingered in your presence. But now..." He turned away from her, making a grunt that expressed some frustration. "I don't see it anymore."

"Well..." Raven said, still clenching her fists. "That's what happens to someone when they get knocked down too hard and too much sometimes."

Vader came up to her, and roughly gripped the back of her neck in his large hands. Anger and impatience was swelling off of his aura. Raven's body locked up in fear now as he forced her neck back so that her gaze would reach his. "You are not that weak. I trained you... I know."

Raven quivered slightly. "I will get over this... once I have my friend back."

Vader was clenching his teeth as he replied. "I can't let you have that droid of yours back until I know you won't use him to run away again."

"I'm not going to run away!"

"So you say!" He spat back, the rage swirling in his throat.

"You can take out all his weapons, and all his memory of the death star's layout! Anything! Just so long as he remembers who I am and that he is my friend! Please!"

"How do I know you won't find a way to install something else in him to escape? You are a smart mechanic. I have no trust in you anymore-"

"I won't leave you again!" Raven shouted, her eyes watering.

Vader released her, and stepped back. Her words surprised him.

Although she could hardly believe that she had truly accepted it, she knew she had to tell him. It was the truth. Somehow...

"I won't leave you, my Master. Not again. You stole me... and now I can't leave." Raven said, her face becoming hot as she looked down again at the floor.

Vader was silent, aside from his mechanically breathing. He then turned away again from her for a moment as he thought. "I will think more on it."

Raven sighed and nodded her head. She continued to fight back tears. She was sick of crying.

"For now, I want you to stop dwelling on this. You are wasting your energy. You must focus on your control."

"I have been practicing on that."

"And?"

Raven looked up to her master. "And.. what?"

"How strong are your senses? Are you able to sense more than just me?"

Raven bit her lower lip. "I think so..."

Vader breathed in deeply as they both stared at each other. His mind came into hers._ 'Tell me..'_

'_I had a dream. And I sensed a very angry and power presence.'_

'_Did it sense you?'_

'_It did. But I don't think it knows where I am.'_

"Good. You are getting stronger then." Vader said aloud, nodding his head once. "But you still need to focus on blocking out emotions. If your mind becomes too busy with emotional thoughts, you will be easier to sense."

"Master.." Raven began, but spoke the rest through the Force. _'Is that presence I felt the Emperor?'_

'_It might be. I'm almost sure of it,' _Vader confirmed. _'He has been restless. And his presence has been lingering after me recently. I have been keeping him from discovering you, but I can only do so much. You need to cover yourself and keep him from sensing you anymore.'_

"I will." The whisper hardly brushed her lips. But it didn't satisfy him, and she could tell. He continued to stare down at her.

"I can still see you are lacking confidence," Vader said deeply.

"I have done wrong," Raven said.

Suddenly, Vader stood inches away from her, his breathing so loud, it was almost as if his respirator was in her ear. She looked up at him in surprise, the hair on her neck standing up.

"Perhaps I should motivate you to be more confident.." He said, a little bit softer than normal.

Raven felt her throat go dry. That feeling had crawled back out of her and was suddenly hungry for more lust. She could sense that same feeling pulsing off of him again. Her mind was struggling to resist. She wanted to resist, because she was afraid of being hurt again.

'_Do not resist me.'_ He spoke to her in her head.

Raven gulped as she slowly nodded her head to show she understood.

She could feel Vader's presence attempting to creep into her thoughts. She did not resist. She let him in. She wanted him to understand that she spoke the truth; that she would not leave again. Her eyes fluttered and closed and the image of the white vapor could be seen circling around them both. She could see the invisible, multi-colored threads that connected her mind to Vader's. It was moving slowly and gracefully, like a stream.

'_You will be loyal to me.' _The force spoke for him.

Her eyes opened as his black image came to her view.

'_I have seen it.'_

Raven did not reply. She only stared into the dark lens of his mask. He must have seen a vision from the Force. Whatever it was, she knew it was starting to convince him that she no longer had the will to leave. She was slowly beginning to learn that she did, in fact, wish to stay here with him.

_But why are you risking this? He might hurt you again..._

That night, Raven lay in the large bed of her master's chamber. The Dark Lord had fled to the room next to her; the one with the hyperbaric chamber, so that he could sleep with his helmet off. Raven had thought several times to sneak in and try to see what he looked like under the mask. But she remembered his words... _'This face behind the mask is not mine. The mask you see is who I am.'_

She knew he didn't want her to see his face. And she was also afraid of him, even in his sleep, sensing her coming closer.

She turned over on her side, sighing deeply. She began to empty her thoughts and think as simple as possible. She began to think of lights... Bright, colorful lights shifting around a dark room. Like a rave club. She smiled to herself. How she missed going to those back on earth. Her imagination continued to feed her simplistic imagery of rave lights until her mind began to blank out.

She was dreaming now. Or so she thought. She could still sense her body lying on the large bed of the corridor. She sat up quickly in the bed. She had felt a presence quickly fall upon her. Across the room, her master stood next to the door from his other chamber. It was so dark, she could not make out the features on his face. But she could hear his breathing.

'_I thought you were in your chamber...'_ She asked him.

'_I cannot sleep. I want you..'_ He said deeply.

Raven's heart beat shot up. _'Wot ... do you mean?'_

He was suddenly standing next to her, looming over her on the bed.

'_Wot are you-'_

'_Do not speak anymore..'_ Vader told her, placing a gloved finger on her lips.

Next thing she knew, she was stripped naked and her Master held her body on top of his. His Force was caressing her skin and his body was conjoined to her. She could not help but tip her head back, moaning in the feeling of pleasure.

'_You are never going to runaway from me again,'_ His voice sounded louder than normal.

...

Raven gasped as she awoke from her dream. Her body was shivering cold from a sweat, her lungs panted for air, and her eyes darted around the dark room. As if she wasn't really dreaming, Vader stood over the bed in the exact same spot. She stared up at him, bewildered and flushed.

"Your dreams are so easy to manipulate." He told her, chuckling to himself.

Her face was burning hot as she covered herself with the blankets, still thinking she was naked. "You... why did you do that?" She asked, shaking.

He did not answer her. He only turned and began to walk back to his chamber. "If I can still manipulate your dreams, you are not strong enough yet. I will keep trying to enter your sleep every night. I expect you to defend yourself better every time."

Raven looked after him, completely puzzled. She knew he wanted her to be able to block out other presence, even when asleep. But why was he manipulating her dreams in such a way? Why was he pursuing her growing feeling? She smothered her face into the sheets, shaking her head. "I don't like this..." She said. But she was lying to herself. Deep down, she loved it. Part of her couldn't resist how her master toyed with her. But she didn't want to enjoy it. Because she knew it allowed him complete control over her. She did not like her independence being taken away from her so easily. She only hoped Darth Vader would regain his trust in her soon. She did not like being a prisoner once again.


	31. Fate 1

"I'm going to be gone for several days."

Raven stared up at her master in some surprise. This announcement was made so quickly when he entered the room.

"Okay..." Raven replied. "Wot for?"

"The Emperor has business for me to attend to," The Dark Lord breathed. "I plan to make this quick so that I can begin to teach you more with the Force."

Raven's eyes fluttered slightly. She felt pretty irritated since she was sure she was going to be stuck in her contained room alone while he was gone.

'_Patience.'_ Vader told her in her mind.

Raven nodded, looking down at his boots.

"Remember to continue practicing your fighting techniques while I'm gone."

"There's nothing better for me to do," Raven said, sounding a little sour.

Darth Vader only breathed deeply, but did not respond to her remark.

"I'll be back." With that, he turned and left through the sliding door. Raven waited to hear the lock seal shut.

_**Cluink. Chk.**_

Raven sighed deeply. This was going to be a painfully, boring next few days.

…

Two days passed. She practiced her defenses and attacks steadily.

…

Another three days passed. She continued to practice a little, but spent most of the time meditating with the Force so that she could strengthen her mind.

…

Five days passed. Raven was beginning to feel a bit crazy. She would find herself staring out the window in the vast, open space, daydreaming. Sometimes she would try and use the Force to seek out her Master. But she could not sense him... she was not strong enough. For all she knew, he could be millions of light years away.

"Where are you..." She whispered to herself. He had said he would be gone for several days. But _several days_... It felt like several days had already passed. And he has still not returned, nor has he even made any contact with her.

For the past few days, the loneliness had begun to eat her away. She'd find herself weeping randomly ever once in a while, desperate to talk to **somebody. **_**Anybody**_**.** But all she got was a storm trooper that would come by only three times a day to briefly deliver her meals. And that was all...

Raven stood from the window seal and flopped down on her back on the bed. She closed her eyes, rubbed her face roughly and combed her fingers through her blue hair. Her hair was getting long. She wished she could get it cut somehow. She always hated having hair passed her shoulders...

"Please..." Raven pleaded, her eyes still shut. "I need to hear from you."

Raven found herself missing Darth Vader more than worrying. Nevertheless, that small worried feeling deep down thought the reason he was taking so long was because something bad had happened to him. But what were the chances of that? As far as she was concerned, he is one of the most powerful beings to exist. What could possibly be a threat to him? Still...

"Please, Master..." Raven whispered. "Give me a sign."

Raven felt the white vapors of the Force weaving around her body. As her left hand lay loose, palm up and relaxed, she felt it entangling around her fingers. It was like a slow moving current of water, but without the wet and cold touch. She knew it was trying to calm her. It helped a bit.

'_Raven.'_

She twitched slightly. The voice sounded so faint.

'_Raven.'_

Her eyes opened quickly. This time she was sure it wasn't just her imagination.

'_Master?'_

'_Can you hear me?' _He asked her. His voice was so quiet. But it was him all the same.

'_Yes. I can hear you.' _Her heart was starting to beat excitedly in her chest.

'_Good. I need you to do something.'_

Raven stood up. _'Wot?'_

'_I need you to focus your attention on the door that leads out. Focus on it with your mind. And push it open. Can you do that?'_

She suddenly began to feel confused. Push it open? So she could leave?

'_Why?'_

The connection between their minds was feeling weaker. She struggled to keep focus so she wouldn't lose him.

'_Master?' _She could still sense him but his voice was too weak to hear.

Raven turned her gaze to the door.

'_Open the door...' _It was nothing but a mere echo in the back of her head.

Can I really do that? Raven stared intently at the door. Her focus began to sharpen. As soon as she was sure all her energy was honed in on the door, she lifted her hand, palm out towards it. She felt her muscles tense, her neck veins tighten, and her mind strain. The door did not move.

"Come on," Raven commanded. "Open."

The door began to vibrate as Raven continued to feed the Force's energy towards it.

"Open."

The vibrating became violent, but it still refused to budge.

'_You can open it.' _Vader's voice whispered.

A soft touch came to her shoulders. His presence seemed to weakly linger over her. _'Open the door.'_

"Open!" Raven shouted. Her arm jerked violently up, as if the Force shot back at her. But in that instant, the door flew open with a loud bang.

Raven gasped. Was this really freedom?

'_Now... get to the ship bay.'_

'_Where is that?' _Raven asked. She still had no idea why Vader was asking her to do all this. She never would have thought his trust would return so quickly. Or perhaps... this was a test?

'_I will guide you to it.'_

Suddenly a pulling feeling over came her legs. The Force was luring her body to move forward.

'_How do I know this isn't a test? Are you testing my loyalty?'_

Raven waited for a reply. But she heard nothing. She still felt the pull on her legs. She bit down on her lower lip, stuck on what to do.

'_Maste-'_

'_MOVE!'_

His voice was sharp. It still seemed to be weak, but she was certain she also heard pain in his deep tone.

She didn't walk; she ran. She ran in the direction the Force pulled her. The pulling feeling felt like a string that was now tugging at her chest. It seemed desperate. Raven felt some panic build in her as she ran.

'_Master... are you hurt?'_ She asked.

'_Move quickly' _was all he answered with. This only made her panic more. She passed several troopers and workers as she ran. They all looked at her questionably as she moved through the grey and gloomy hallways of the Star Destroyer. It seemed strange. Why weren't any of them trying to stop her?

'They won't try.'

'Why?'

'I'm telling them not to.'

Raven smirked slightly. That's some powerful usage of mind manipulation, she thought. But, she couldn't help but eye each person she passed with caution. She could see the conflict in each of their eyes and movements when they saw her. They knew they were ordered to not let her be out of her master's corridor. But Vader's control was preventing them from pursuing her.

The Force pulled her along harshly. Down this hall, turn at this left, keep going, turn right. Before she knew it, the ship bay was before her. Two guards stood at the post in front of the archway. She could see inside more troopers positioned around the different ships in the dock.

Uh oh...

'_Tell them to let you through.'_

Raven gulped. _'Are they really going to let me?'_

'_**Make**__ them let you through.'_

She knew what he meant. But if she had difficulty getting that door open, how could she possibly manipulate the minds of others? But she would try...

She walked with the pull, first trying to pretend that the troopers weren't even there.

"Hey. Where are you going?" One of the troopers said firmly. Both of them now walked away from their position and came up to her, guns held up in defense.

Raven took a deep breath, focusing her mind on theirs. "You should let me through."

"We should let you through?" The other trooper repeated, confused. There was conflict there. But her confidence began to build. Maybe she had this.

"My master has ordered me to go. Let me through." She said firmly up in their faces.

"Your... master.." The other trooper seemed really puzzled.

"Maybe we should let her through..." The other said to his partner.

"Let me **through**." She said, getting impatience. She leered at them both.

Both troopers stared at her silently for a moment, then with one stride, the stepped back and out of her way. Raven nodded swiftly and continued on.

The Force led her up to a cargo ship. This model was much smaller than the one she had hijacked and made an escape in back on the Death Star.

'_Open it with your Force.'_

Raven put her hand out and slowly guided the hatch the ship down. This was much easier now. Perhaps she was getting the hang of this.

She stepped on aboard and walked through to the cockpit. A smile came to her face. Its controls looked just like the last cargo ship. She thankfully remembered it well. Quickly, she got in the pilot seat and hit the power on. The engines roared to life and the lights inside flashed on.

'_First.. check the cargo.'_

Raven hesitated, but got up from the seat. _'Wot am I looking for?'_

'_Look at the boxes..'_

Raven came to the back of the small ship. There were only two boxes in the back. She squatted down and took a look at them. They both had a long code engraved on the side, with a picture of the item inside.

'_It looks like some kind of filtering system.'_ She said.

There was a pause. _'…Good.'_

Satisfied, Raven stood back up and quickly returned to the cockpit.

'_Where am I going?'_ Raven asked.

No response. Raven quickly sat down again in the large pilot seat and began to check all the control systems as she waited.

'_Where am I going?'_ She repeated. But Vader did not answer her.

'_Master!' _

The panic was building again. Why wasn't he answering her?

Raven took her shaking hands and pulled the controls up.

He's hurt… The panicking feeling made her anxiety bubble inside her. The ship jerked up in the air and hovered roughly around.

"Come on, you piece of shit. Fly!"

The cargo ship struggled, but began to move down towards the opening that was sealed by a mere plasma shield.

'_Please, master. Answer me...'_

The ship merged out of the shield and became swallowed by the black vacuum of space.

'She heard the echo faintly in her mind. But she couldn't make out what the words were. She shut her eyes as the ship continued to cruse straight.

'_..Wot?'_

_Nar Shaddaa._

"Nar Shaddaa.." She repeated. "Nar Shaddaa."

Hastily, her fingers hit the scroll on the navigation screen. She searched through the star systems. Then she found it. A small moon was on the screen, labeled 'Nar Shaddaa.' That's where she needed to go. She punched in the coordinates for that system.

"I'm on my way."

…

He struggled to keep himself from blacking out. It was starting to hurt to breathe.

The sounds of electricity popped and hissed on his back. It felt hot. And there was a terrible burn.

Darth Vader… the powerful Sith Lord had almost fallen. He couldn't believe the terrible trap he had gotten into. He felt his rage building as his fists clenched tightly.

_The Emperor wants me dead…_

But he wouldn't let that happen. They may have damaged his filtering system, but he was still able to breathe. The air was slowly starting to burn in his lunges over time. Soon, the filter would let in too much tainted oxygen. But it was keeping him alive. For now…

He now sat, his back to a filthy wall in the shadows of an alleyway. His dark suit merged into perfect camouflage to all that passed by. And the countless crafts that hummed above hid his loud gasps for air.

He could feel his energy weakening. He no longer had the strength to reach with the Force to his young apprentice. He had to save it in order to keep himself awake.

He took one of his large, gloved hands and softly laid it on the respirator box on his chest. His only hope now was that she would find him. And soon.


	32. Fate 2

A blur of stars surrounded the ship. Raven felt that familiar warping feeling in her body as the cargo ship dove into hyperspace.

Her body tensed up, and she grit her teeth painfully.

_Hold on... I'm coming._

She could only hope she would find her master before it was too late.

As she waited impatiently for her vessel to make it to her destined star system, she closed her eyes and reached as far as possible with the Force in order to seek Darth Vader.

It was very faint.. but she was sure she could feel his presence pulsing weakly in her mind. Like a heart beat... that was gradually beginning to slow down.

"Damnit.." Raven cursed. "It's not going to be like this."

The strain of hyperspace began to subside as the stars around her held still in space. Before her was the small moon of Nar Shaddaa.

Once the ship returned to cruising speed, Raven gripped the flight controls tightly and smashed them down. The ship gave a harsh jolt as the engines propelled it quickly to the moon's atmosphere.

Raven continued to grit her teeth. She felt like they were going to shatter. However, that was her least concern. She had to move quickly.

Jumping forward with the Force, Raven searched the surface of the moon desperately as she came closer. His presence was very far. With a harsh turn, Raven steered the ship sharply and drove it to the right. His presence became clearer.

_I will find you..._

As the ship's engines began to scream from the pressure of the speed, Raven's thoughts darted over the planet again.

And there it was... Like a small beacon, blinking in the depths of darkness, she could see his presence with the Force. It looks like he was down in that shaded area of the moon. The half that was experiencing night.

...

The ship became shaky as it entered the atmosphere. And as soon as she was through, her eyes were struck by thousands upon thousands of lights. It was a giant city. Everywhere she looked were more lights, moving vessels in the air, and smog. Lots of smog.

But this city had to be the biggest she had ever seen. It was incredible. There was nothing quite like this in size comparison back on Earth.

Quickly again, Raven looked for her Master. His presence was stronger now.

But moving...

She watched with a focus mind as she could see his aura moving quickly through the city below her. "...Wot?"

She turned the ship angled down slightly and flew towards his presence. She was so in tuned to the Force guiding her that when she heard a transmission alert beep loudly next to her face, she jumped back in surprise. On the board was a flashing knob, and the transmission was in pending. Raven hit the knob.

"Imperial Cargo Ship, please follow our escort to a docking bay."

Raven bit down on her tongue. She had no time for this.

"Imperial Cargo Ship, do you read me?"

"This cargo ship can't land right now. Making an urgent delivery."

"...What?-"

Raven turned off the transmission receiver. Just before she could focus in on her lord, the ship that had transmitted her open fired. Two lasers skimmed the top of the ship's heat sensor.

"Shit!" Raven sneered under her breath. She turned the transmitter back on.

"You are in suspicion for capturing an Imperial vessel. Turn around now and land!"

"I am the apprentice of Lord Vader! I have no time to land now. Let me pass!"

But the ship only sent more warning flares down onto of the ship's engines. An alarm went hissing out of control, alerting her for damage.

"Fucking hell..." Raven's patient was gone. She was going to have to deal with this the hard way.

…

"How does it feel to be the one in someone else's mercy, my Lord?"

"Keep thinking this is your clever work, Rebel."

"If it wasn't for our team of spies aboard your fleet, we wouldn't have you cornered here."

"The Emperor could have stopped you."

"So why didn't he? If he is all powerful and wise, how come he did not stop us from bringing down his vicious pet?"

"...He no longer has need of me..." Darth Vader, stood weakly, leaned against a wall for support. The nerves in his right, robotic leg had given out and was completely locked up. His right arm had been shot off. Only wires and electric sparks frayed out from his upper joint. He gripped the handle of his lightsaber in is one good hand. The neon red blade was held in defense between him and the swarm of rebels. Sixteen rebels. His confidence had become shaken. He wasn't sure he could take them all down.

Their leader, a rather tall and white hair man stood in the center of the dome-like building they had trapped him in. This man had a large scar on his left cheek and a messy mustache that was as bleak as his hair. His eyes were a milky blue; perhaps he was starting to suffer from cataracts. And yet, it was strange that he was a good shot for having such a condition. He held two large blasters in both hands, which he had used to fire upon the Dark Lord to slowly tire him out. All the other rebels held their positions to keep Darth Vader from escaping. They too, held their own blasters.

Vader's disgusted anger was boiling in his stomach. He felt ashamed to be the one that was now the prey. He would not have been caught in this situation had the Emperor stopped them.

As the Dark Lord recalled, when the Emperor assigned him to bring order to a smuggler's base on Nar Shaddaa, he was given a fleet of troopers to assist him if necessary. Vader never actually needed help with such tasks. And yet, these troopers were no troopers of the Empire. They were rebel spies. _Traitors..._

But the Emperor assigned this specific group of rebel spies with him. Surely, the Emperor knew. He had intended to allow them to snare Vader. Perhaps the Emperor had found his way into his mind and sensed his plans of betraying his master...

"It took longer than we thought for you to weaken down." The rebel leader smirked.

"You under estimate my power.." Vader sneered.

"Yes, well... a power you will be striped from once in for all. No longer will you have the privilege of wiping out innocent civilizations to your liking."

Vader's took in a raspy breath. The burn in his lungs was starting to become unbearable. He had breathed in too much tainted oxygen for too long. He had already turned the controls on his respiratory box down to the slowest speed that his mechanical system would pump. It made him feel suffocated. But it was better than breathing in more and intoxicating his impure lungs.

He knew his time was limited.

"Say goodbye, Darth Vader, you disgusting, imperial son-of-a bitch!" The rebel yelled, taking one of his blasters and firing several rounds.

Vader's joints tensed up as he struggled to block every single laser beam off with his lightsaber. The usage of the Force was weakening him further. His second leg gave out in that instant. He fell down on his side with a loud crack against the stone floor. He struggled to push himself up with the arm that was still holding his weapon. His heavy armor made this very difficult.

"How pathetic..." The rebel laughed. "The great Lord Vader, now a worthless fallen pawn." The rest of the rebels laughed with their superior. "It's amazing what one little strike to your filter on your back will do. All we had to do is damage it. And then... we waited. We let you run, but we waited. Slowly, you became weaker and weaker. Now you are nothing."

Vader growled impatiently as he finally got himself in a sitting position against the wall.

"You're time is up." The rebel leader said bitterly, holding his plasma blaster aimed for Vader's chest.

A sudden cargo ship came flying dangerously close by. He saw it through the window ceiling above. It flew so recklessly.

"What the fuck is that thing doing landing over here?" One of the rebels shouted.

"Did it land outside?"

"Quiet!" The rebel leader hissed to his paranoid warriors. They all stood still, listening. The engine could no longer be heard. It had become very quiet.

Vader felt a painful smile creep up his scarred face. He sealed his lightsaber in and dropped the weapon at his side. The rebel leader eyed him suspiciously, and then quickly turned his head to two of his companions. "Stay on guard. He might have more troopers coming to his aide."

"If only..." Vader took in a raspy breath before he continued, "you had such mercy to deal with more troopers."

"Just shut up alrea-"

In a flash, Vader's lightsaber went whirling through the air, passed the rebels and vanished in the shadows of the giant archway of the room.

The three rebels closest to the door turned quickly, their weapons raised.

"What? Who's there!" One of them shouted.

With a low hiss, the red blade extended and illuminated the outline of its wielder. The face of a young girl glowed dimly.

"Come out!"

With a few steps, Raven came into the clearing. On an average day, this girl wouldn't be so intimidating, being only a few inches above five feet and having a very small body frame. But something had snapped inside her. A rage was burning. Her amber eyes were now a blazing red. The three troopers closest to her took a step back. They felt her rage and fear struck them cold.

"You motha-fuckers better get the hell out of here." She warned with a low voice.

The rebel leader was the only one to not back down. "Who do you think you are?"

Raven swung the lightsaber back behind her as she positioned herself in one of the many fighting stances she had practiced. "I am about to be the death of you."

Vader stared weakly. Pride was warming off the pain he felt. Somehow, his distress call had triggered the rage and anger he had been working so hard to pull out of the young girl for so long. This was the power he wanted her to unleash. And now she had.

"She must be another Sith like Darth Vader!" One of the rebels shouted.

The rebel leader held both his guns out towards her. "Don't just stand there, fire!"

All the rebels raised their guns.

…

Time slowed.

The atmosphere became lighter. Raven could feel the Force feeding on the rage that had been born inside her. It feed and gave her strength. It gave her speed. She was ready to avenge her master.

She took a mere second to lunge down and she sprinted quickly across the floor, dodging the spray of plasma lasers that followed. She came up to the first Rebel and struck through both his legs. He let out a blood-curdling scream and fell to the floor just as she made it to her next victim. One by one, she moved with such speed and brought them down. One she sliced through the chest, the next she cut off his limbs and used him as a laser shield, another she took off his head with a clean cut. All the while, she felt no fear. She felt no pain and she felt no guilt. _They deserve this! _Her mind screamed. _You filthy lot deserve this for trying to kill him! _

The rebel leader dropped his weapons and pulled off a spherical object on his belt. "You lil bitch!" He yelled. Just as she brought down the fourteenth rebel and made a straight sprint for the white haired man, he tossed the sphere straight for her. Just as it left his fingertips, the ball released four sharp talons that proceed in a grabbing motion so that it could latch itself to Raven. It was a shame for the Rebel Leader that the Force was her ally.

In her eyes, this four-talon weapon was moving ever so slowly. She had plenty of time to see that this thing was, in fact, an explosive device. The blinking red light in the center of it gave it away. Raven took the butt of the light saber handle and carefully pinned it between two of the talons, then with all her strength, she flung it around her body. Using her hands to guide it she thrust it back towards the rebel leader.

"The fu-" The four sharp talons closed around his body. Sheer panic came over the old man's face. Raven came rushing up to him, took both her palms and smashed them up into the lower part of his gut, just above the grenade. Then, the Force did the rest.

With an angry scream, she used the Force and blasted him up into the air. His body rocketed towards the glass ceiling and smashed into it.

_**Beeeeeep.**_

The grenade exploded.

The heat and the light of the ignition boomed over her. Raven quickly darted towards the wall where her master lay to avoid the falling shards of glass and the heat wave.

She gasped, holding a hand to the wall, as she stoop slumped over. The explosion's echo lingered above.

"...Raven?"

Raven quickly looked up in shock. The last rebel she had missed had spoken her name. When her eyes made contact, the rage quickly vaporized from her heart.

Daom stood a few feet away, his gun held high, but it was merely a defense. He was still wearing that old uniform she had seen him in when they were in the rave club. He looked petrified.

"Raven..." There was confusion and shock in his voice.

Raven felt her body lock up.

"I thought... I thought you were a Jedi. Why... why are you fighting for _him_?" She heard that familiar sound of pain in the back of his tone. The same sense of betrayal she had seen in Casco.

Raven sighed, holding her lightsaber out towards the lonely rebel. "I'm sorry, Daom."

"No... this can't be."

Raven only let one tear escape her eyelid as she sprint towards him, her blade ready to strike.

"_I'm sorry."_


	33. Fate 3

There was a huge whole in his cape where the blaster shot through. It burned when she tried to touch it and take a look.

"We need to get you out of here," Raven said.

The Dark Lord said nothing. He only continued to take in painful, raspy sounding breaths.

"Master..." She knew he was okay. She could sense his thoughts busily cycling in his head. But he would not let her in to hear them.

Raven did not wait for a reply. She had to move him quickly, or he was going to die.

She bent down on her knees and pulled his one good arm over her shoulders. "We need to get you to the ship."

Even with using the Force, she struggled to even budge him. His armor was _very_ heavy.

_**C'mon...**_

"My legs have locked up..." Vader said, his voice still amazingly strong.

"You can't move them at all?" Raven asked desperately. She knew at this rate she wasn't even going to be able to move him out of the building. She was too small and weak.

Again, Vader did not reply. Raven could feel the panic building in her quickly. "It... its okay... I can just bring you that filter and fix you here. Then I can fix your legs..."

Vader slowly lifted his masked face up to her. He remained silent, but something about this gesture seemed off. He didn't have the confidence in him that he usually had.

"Just hold on, I'll be back quickly!" Raven stuttered, turning on her heels and making a sprint towards the exit.

Her heels slid on the polished stone floor as she turned to reach the ship. It still remained where she landed it.

'_Why did you come to my aide?' _He spoke to her with the Force.

'_Because you asked me too.'_

'_You knew the moment you got out of my Star Destroyer with that ship, you could have fled.'_

'_Why would I have done that?'_

Vader remained silent. Raven pulled the ships door open with the Force and scrambled inside. She then added: _'I told you I wasn't going to leave again.'_

_'Yes, you did..'_

Raven felt her heart racing. It was a terrible mix of anxiety and compassion for her master. She could feel the conflict in Vader as he questioned her. She could tell he still had doubt in her; that she was probably going to runaway again. But she felt glad to prove to him that he was wrong.

Raven came to the back of the cargo ship. She needed tools. God, please have there be tools somewhere on this damn ship. She looked to the walls and saw storage units lined up in the back. Surely, there must be some emergency mechanic tools... She knew her desperation was getting higher when she smashed her fist in the cubical box to open it. She grabbed the loose cover off and tossed it over her shoulder. Bingo! A small toolbox was found.

Raven snatched it up by the handle, and then grabbed the large box that had the filter system in it. Hoisting the box onto her shoulder, she made a mad sprint back to her master.

Vader waited in the same spot when she returned. She quickly tossed the box down first, and then opened the toolbox to see her options.

"Calm yourself... you won't be as efficient if you are not calm," Vader said.

"I'm trying... but your dying. I'm under pressure," Raven said, her voice shaking badly. She was fighting back tears.

"I am fine," Vader replied. Even though he didn't seem confident, his voice was full of truth.

"Okay..." Raven said, taking a deep breath. "You might need to help me figure out how to manually replace this filter."

"And you'll need to move quickly once you have my suit open... But first, make sure you are calm."

Raven took in another deep breath, nodding her head. "I am calm."

"Remove the flat plate to get to the filter. There are three bolts that old it in place. Unbolt it. Once you do, pull it out slowly..." Vader paused, as his raspy breathing became louder. He was struggling. "Pull out the filter slowly so that you can see any cables that might have been damaged."

"And if there are damaged cables?"

"Hopefully, that won't be a problem..." Vader said, still gasping painfully.

Raven grabbed a bolt gun and another tool that had a sharp point. She came around to Vader's back and brushed his large, black cape aside. She could see the plate that covered his filter system had melted from the heat of the plasma. Raven took her sharp-pointed tool and began to dig the plate free from its place. With great effort, she managed to pry it off.

"Remember.." Vader said, his voice starting to fade. "Whatever happens... stay calm."

"Yes," Raven replied. She carefully took the bolt gun and latched it to the first bolt. The gun gave off a loud, gnarled sound as it sucked the bolt out of place. She took the bolt off and placed it down next to her. Two more to go. Stuck the next one, drilled out and placed it down. Last one. She latched the gun to the bolt and popped it out. Okay, now time to move quicker. Raven opened the box with the filter, using her sharp random tool as a crow bar. She broke it open and pulled out the clean, brand new filter from its package. Carefully she gripped the filter latched into Vader's back. It burned with heat, but she ignored it. She pulled it out gently to look inside. Indeed, three cables had been shot in half from the blaster.

"Master, the cables are fried..."

But her master could not reply. With the filter out of place, the oxygen in the air was killing him faster. His upper body began to quiver as his system started to go into shock.

"Shit!" Raven said, gasping and biting her lip hard. Stay calm. _Stay calm!_

Raven quickly returned to the toolbox, praying for a miracle.

Her heart jumped, as she thought someone must have heard her prayer. Inside the box was a giant roll of electrical tape. Or at least that's what it looked like. Fuck it, it will do!

Raven returned to her master, placing one hand on his back to steady him and the other reached in and carefully pulled the wires out. With such speed and desperation, her fingernails tore pieces of the tape off and wrapped the wires back together. All the while, her mind was screaming: _Don't die. Don't die! Please, don't die! _She placed the cables back in and took the new filter in her hands, almost dropping it from sweaty fingertips. She had to keep herself from slamming it in, making sure it fit just right. As soon as the new filter was placed back in, she began to re-bolt it, and Vader became still again.

"...Better?" Raven asked, still shaky.

She knew immediately he was fine when she heard a clear and powerful inhale of breath. "Yes."

"Jesus.." She gasped, sweat falling from her temples. She quickly screwed in all three bolts and took the half melted plate, using more of the electric tape to reattach it.

"You've done well."

Raven continued to gasp, as she waited for her heart to stop racing out of control. "Oh... god..." She lay her head down on her master's shoulder, gasping. She shut her eyes, as she listened to her heartbeat through her ears. _That was too damn close..._

"There is no need for the panic anymore." Vader commented.

"I know... I'm.. I'm sorry. I was just so scared I wasn't going to be fast enough. I was afraid I'd lose you..."

There was that strange conflict again. She could feel it in his aura. He said nothing on her remark, but let her remain on his shoulder as he stared off towards the exit.

Raven took a while to steady herself and let her heartbeat return to a normal pace. She reopened her eyes and looked about her. The bodies of the rebels still lay scattered among the floor. Their blood glinted from the low lighting. They looked like amputated zombies…

Raven looked over to her right and saw the body of Daom, who remained motionless like his fallen comrades. From this angle, she couldn't see the whole that she had drilled through his stomach with Vader's light saber. The guilt had not yet fully hit her for killing him. It would later, once she soaked in the fact that she had betrayed another acquaintance.

The conflict that was stirring in Vader seemed to subside when his mind joined with hers. He was reading her pain from this moment. She could feel his mind softly touching over hers as he read her thoughts; that Raven wanted nothing more to do with this place.

"Enough excitement for one day..." Raven whispered under her breath. "Let's leave."

...

Her body had become physically exhausted. She sat in the copilot seat, next to Vader. It hadn't been much labor work to get his leg joints up and working again. And yet she felt very weak. Stress from earlier, perhaps?

"Rest," Vader commanded, as he began to set coordinates to the ship's computer.

"Are you sure I shouldn't fly us back? You only have one hand..." Raven suggested.

"We aren't going back to the Executor."

"Why not?"

Vader gave a deep sigh, or so it sounded under his mask, as the ship began to easily hover out of the tight squeeze Raven had landed it. "There is a reason I was almost killed, my apprentice."

Raven turned her head over to him, listening.

"I fear the Emperor knows I plan to betray him."

"Does he know about me?" Raven asked, gripping her lower lip with her teeth.

"...I don't know."

This wasn't very reassuring. Raven set her head back on the seat, trying to calm her nerves. The Emperor was not someone to be against. That was for sure.

"The Emperor let those Rebel's infiltrate my fleet, in hope they'd take me out... Which makes me concerned that he is aware of you."

"How do you figure that?"

"He is a Sith, and needs a second hand. Always. Perhaps discovering you, he thought to eliminate me, making you his replacement apprentice."

"I won't let that happen." Raven heard herself say. Vader turned his head slightly towards her, but did not reply.

"If we can't return to your Star Destroyer, where are we going?"

"I've located the Phoenix stationed out in the Outer Rim. It won't be the first place the Emperor will look for us, but we must be quick."

"Does he know you're still alive, then?"

"I have felt his presence lingering... He knows I'm very much alive."

"Strange, I haven't sensed him yet."

"Your connection with the Force is still not strong enough to be sensed. Unless the Emperor knows you are with me, he can't reach you if you keep your thoughts closed."

Raven nodded. The ship was now high above the towering buildings and had set a coarse for the stars. Raven felt her eyelids become heavy and her head nodded back. She still tried to keep herself alert and awake, but her body was resisting.

"Raven... you need to rest," Vader said, his voice sounding distant.

It probably wasn't... She was only half awake.


	34. Fate 4

Lust. An emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire. Lust usually had a direct acquaintship with sex or sexual cravings.

He had thought that's what it only was... but now, he wasn't so sure.

Darth Vader tightly gripped the controls of the delicate cargo ship with his one good hand. His breathing seemed harsher than normal as his thoughts danced wildly in his mind. Perhaps he was adjusting to the new filter. Perhaps not...

Raven was sound asleep in the co-pilot seat next to him. She was hunched over and her hand was propped against the side of her face.

From the moment he had handed this small girl a lightsaber for the first time, he had sensed this desire rise up inside her. He ignored it for a while. But to his surprise, it only grew. It became an inner conflict. The young one fought hard to resist it and toss it aside. She probably could have successfully over came it with time. That is, until he began to stir the pot of her emotions.

Had he not originally done this only in the hopes of bringing her over to the dark side? And yet, through the lustful desires he had brought out from inside her, some other emotion in her came forth. He wasn't sure if he liked this new emotion or not...

Raven twitched occasionally, but did not stir very much. She was dreaming, and he knew it. He would drop into her dreams every minute or so as he watched the ship take its course in hyperspace. She was dreaming of her home world. Somewhere in an old alleyway... The architecture looked very uncivil compared to the many worlds he had seen. Tall, basic shaped buildings made of some sort of stone were up high and all around her. She was running through them. The alleyways seemed endless and he sensed her emotions spiraling into hopelessness. Was she searching... or running? The same thoughts kept racing through her head as she dreamt: _Where are you? Where am I?_

The Dark Lord emerged his thoughts from within her dreams as he continued to stare out at the lines of light from space. His mind was rushing around aggressively, pondering on all the new circumstances.

The Emperor was now an official enemy. It was time to engage on a plan to bring him down before he had them eliminated. Good news was Raven had successfully unlocked her rage and wielded the Dark Side of the Force. He was also leaning on the hope that the Emperor still did not have much knowledge of his apprentice's existence. But the bad news weighed out heavier... Vader had a limited time before all Star Destroyers would be alerted that they were official traitors of the Empire. And his current condition wasn't very good... his armor and cyborg parts were heavily damaged. If he planned to get any repairs made in one of his hyperbaric chambers, he would need to get them done quickly and quietly. Then there was another issue that was significantly worse... Raven was not ready to face the Emperor. Even together as a team, he was not confident that they could over throw Darth Sidious's power. He was, in fact, the greatest Sith to ever live. Raven did not know the Emperor, and therefore, would not know what to accept when facing him. No preparation...

He needed more time to train her. Time was not what they had. Perhaps now he needed to step up the intensity of her training...

…

Raven felt him grip her shoulder. His aura swarmed her senses and she immediately awoken in response.

"We are approaching the Phoenix. Be ready to disembark quickly." Vader spoke to her as he piloted the ship forward. The ship was flying recklessly fast towards the giant Star Destroyer now in view. Raven nodded her head as she shook off her drowsiness.

"Wot are we going to do once aboard?" She asked.

"I need to get to my hyperbaric chamber for maintenance. In the mean time, you will grab yourself another lightsaber and prepare a message to the Executor."

"A message?" Raven asked.

"A message for the head mechanic, Casco. We need him to bring your droid to us. I just hope that we aren't too late.."

Raven knew what he meant. Immediately, her fear for her robotic friend returned. She too hoped she would be able to retrieve Mech before she lost any chances of ever getting him back for good.

A hailing message came to the cargo ship. Raven hit the button that received it.

"Phoenix to Imperial Cargo Ship. Your number is not coming up on the schedule. What delivery are you making?"

"This is not a delivery, Commander." Vader said.

There was silence on the other side of the comlink for a while. "Lord Vader?"

"Yes." He replied simply.

"My Lord, what are you doing aboard that cargo ship?"

Vader quite obviously avoided his question. "Commander, prepare the Phoenix for my arrival."

"Y-yessir." The comlink cut out. Immediately, one of the dock bays' port opened and revealed the plasma shield that separated the vacuum of space to the interior of the large vessel.

Vader pushed down on the throttle of the ship and it lurched forward into the ship bay.

…

"Lord Vader... what brings you here on this surprising visit?" The commander asked, standing up straight and formal. He came to greet both Darth Vader and Raven once they exited the cargo ship.

"Ambush by the Rebels." Vader said simply, not stopping to stand and chat. Raven continued after her master, eyeing the commander carefully.

"I ...see.." The commander said, looking right at Vader's missing hand as they passed.

Vader's long stride was difficult for Raven to keep up with. She was practically running after him. She noticed the troopers that formally stopped and waited for Vader to pass before continuing their business. She also noticed how they stared after her in the process. It must have been a strange sight to see: The towering Dark Lord, cloaked in all black, gliding gracefully and menacingly through the hallways, with a small and delicate blue haired girl hot on his heels.

Vader led them to another one of his private chambers on this Star Destroyer. Its layout was almost identical to the one on the Executor.

"There might be one or two lightsabers left in the storage, if I remember correctly." Vader said as he brought them into the side room that held his hyperbaric chamber.

Raven turned her gaze to a metallic looking wardrobe in the corner of the room. She walked over to it and hit the button on its seal. The wardrobe, in response, slid its doors wide open. Her eyes lit up wide to see thousands upon thousands of miscellaneous objects crammed tightly into this storage unit. She didn't know where to begin first.

Raven heard the gassy hiss of the hyperbaric chamber behind her as her Lord stepped into his cocoon and sealed him in. She had no idea how long it was going to take for his arm and the rest of his suit to be repaired. Hopefully, she'd have enough time. She knew they were tight on time.

She started with the lower shelf just at her eye level and began picking and rummaging through the objects. She found battery pieces, tools, several used filters, bolts and two blasters. But no lightsabers. She did grab one of the blasters and latch it to her belt for safekeeping. Raven then looked up to the next shelf above. There, she found more used filters, memory chips to who knows what, some metal pieces that looks so damaged that they were unidentifiable, and some coins that she guessed were credits. The next shelf was a little high up for her. She stood on the tips of her toes to peer over the front of the shelf. Again, it looked to be nothing but more used filters, but she didn't give up. She took her hand and felt around on the shelf. Her hand glided across the filters until her fingers touched a long, shaft-like object. Her eyes grew large. Her hand grasped it tightly and she pulled it down from the shelf.

It was definitely a light saber. But the design, texture and look of it appeared so different than her master's or her own. This lightsaber's handle was a dark copper color, and the design of it was less modern. It reminded her very much of vines of a plant, or perhaps a gothic dark-aged look, simply based on the heavy swirling pattern that looped all around the handle. It had to have belonged to Jedi from long ago.

Raven couldn't help but admire the engraved details on this lightsaber with her fingers, tracing the design slowly. She then held it in her hand in a fighting position and hit the button to extend the blade. Her eyebrows raised and a grin crept up her face when she saw this lightsaber's color happened to be purple. _What a very pleasant surprise._

She then returned the neon weapon back inside its shaft and latched it on her belt next to the blaster. She turned to look at the hyperbaric chamber. Vader was still sealed inside. Perhaps he needed more repairs than she thought. _Well, might as well try and prepare that message for Casco._ She did remembered seeing a com device set up in the room next door when they walked in...

…

Vader emerged from his chamber, his suit practically glowing. The hyberbaric chamber must have completely touched up everything. Raven gestured to him and announced, "I have a message prepared for you to send to Casco."

"Good." Vader replied.

Lord Vader proceeded with starting the message and spoke clearly to the comlink's lenses: "Head Mechanic Casco Gylides. Bring Raven's droid, including all assembled parts, on a transport to the star destroyer vessel, the Phoenix. Do not delay. Report to the Phoenix immediately."

Vader ended the message and sent it out to his ship, the Executor.

Amazing, Raven thought. The authority of the Dark Lord was so straightforward. He did not need to give a reason or an answer to why... and anyone would obey and follow through with no hesitation.

Vader turned to his apprentice. "Did you find a lightsaber?"

"Yes." Raven answered, taking the weapon off her belt and holding it up.

Vader's gaze fell directly to the ancient blade. She could tell he recognized it immediately and was recalling the memories that were associated with it. She decided to ask, "Wot Jedi use to own this lightsaber?"

Vader lifted his gaze to her. "A very powerful Jedi. She went by the name of the Dark Woman."

Raven raised an eyebrow. So it was a female. "Wot happened to her?"

Vader did not answer. Raven was pretty sure she knew. If she remembered correctly back on the Death Star, she heard the stories how the Empire made a great effort to wipe out the Jedis. It was the only explanation for why the Dark Woman's weapon was now in Vader's possession.

"...Wot do we do while we wait for Casco?" Raven asked.

"There is nothing much we can do. The best thing to do is stay low, incase the Phoenix is alerted to take us out while we are still aboard."

"And wot's our plan if that does happen?"

"…It will be a very challenging fight to get out."


	35. Running 1

(AN: To all my loyal readers. I thank you so very much for your patience. I have been very busy writing another story, and I'm so excited to be picking this one back up. Sorry for a chapter with such lil excitement for the update. Writing style kind of changed since last update, forgive me… trying to readjust)

A message hailed in to the hyperbaric chamber room. It hadn't been very long… maybe half an hour, but the sudden noise of the comlink beeping startled Raven and she fingered the device frantically to receive the message.

"This is Head Mechanic Casco Gylides. I am preparing to enter the Phoenix with your apprentice's droid."

"Good." The deep voice bellowed behind her.

Raven felt her heart swell with gratefulness. Mech would finally be back in her possession. She could hardly wait.

The Dark Lord, Darth Vader stood next to Raven, his breathing seeming slightly off its normal pace. It was definitely moving quickly. His stance was held in his tall powerful position; his arms were crossed tightly behind his back and under his long cape. Raven could tell just by tapping into her senses with the Force that he was just as impatient as she was. They both were desperate to get off this Star Destroyer as quickly as possible. Any minute, they could have troops flooding in on them.

"Where are we going to go after we retrieve my droid?" Raven asked her master, barely looking over her shoulder at him.

Her master did not reply right away, he was starring off directly in front of him, struggling with some more thoughts. When he did not answer, Raven's gaze fully turned toward him.

"I am going to take us to a place where we can train a little bit longer."

"…How much longer?" She was curious to know. They would not be able to hide long from the Empire, and that was a fact.

"Until I think you are ready."

"Ready for..?" Her voice reflected her concern. She had a very good idea what she had to be ready for. _Ready to face the Emperor._ It was a terrifying thought.

'_Yes, ready to face my old master.' _He told her through the Force.

Old Master…

It had only been a few hours, but yes, he was officially Vader's old master. Vader had been betrayed by his master before he had the chance to do it himself… and therefore, he had broken away.

'_Now I am the master, and you are my right hand.'_

Raven felt a warmth come to her heart. She liked that title, Right Hand. It sounded much more formal than apprentice.

'_He's almost here…'_ Her master whispered in her head.

Indeed, they could hear the faint sounds of footfalls coming down the hallway. There was another sound following him. A low hum.

Then the door opened, and there was a pause.

"You may enter." Vader breathed deeply.

Casco stepped in and immediately bowed low to Vader before he approached any further. Behind him, a hover device followed, and on top was a metal box. _Mech had to be in there…_

"My Lord, I have brought the droid as you asked."

"Can it be fixed right away?" Vader asked.

"Yes, indeed." Casco answered.

Raven saw a look of exhaustion in his face. He was struggling to hold something in.

"How long?" Her master asked simply.

Casco paused, looking over at the box. "A few minutes? If Raven can assist me… she knows the droid much better."

"Easy." Raven replied.

"Good. Get to work as quickly as possible."

…

The hover device was set up in the middle of the first room. The light hanging above was adjusted and set to position just above the workspace. There was no talking; there were only the sounds of tools tinkering and metal clanking. From small glances up and down, Raven observed Casco as he worked fast. His eyes darted here and there on the project in front of them, but not once did he look up. There was a muscle near his lower jaw that was tensing and seizing out of control. This, along with the steady work and little talk, clued Raven in that something might have happened, perhaps right before he got here. She even tried to enter his thoughts with the Force to get details… but he was too strong. He had his mind closed and shut off as he worked. He was not going to let her in.

She kept working at his same pace. She focused on the hard drive in Mech's head. Taking a small tool, much like tweezers, she pried open the hard plate and observed the damage. "Hard drive looks fine…"

Casco did not reply.

"I suppose the power strip in his center core got blown… you said the troopers shot out areas in his chest, yes?"

Casco nodded, not looking up. He was busily working on repairing her hound's limbs, reconnecting the wires and soldering the metal back together.

Raven stopped her work, and watched him as he moved up to the heating system on the robotic dog's lower chest. He began unscrewing the plate on the side that opened the compartment to Mech's laser system.

"We need that system online and working…" Raven noted. Casco stopped, and finally looked up at her. His glare was hard.

Raven hesitated. "Vader's demand…"

"Don't think I have no idea what you two are up to…"

She felt her heart skip several beats. "…Pardon?"

Casco gave a conflicting look, which expressed concern and disgust, and then looked back down on the open compartment. Raven only stared at him. She did not comment on his remark… because she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. She had an idea… perhaps the Executor **had **already been alerted about their acts of betrayal. That did not, however, explain why he showed up once they called.

_Was he spying? Was he pretending to stay on their side, so that he could track them for the Empire…?_

"The Emperor wants you dead. You and Vader."

"Wot do you mean? How do you know?"

Casco was silent for a moment. "There was a recording message that was sent to _everyone_ aboard the Executor."

"Wot did it say?"

He paused again before continuing: "Basically, it said the Executor was no longer the vessel of Darth Vader, it was now the Emperor's. It also said that Vader was no longer apart of the Empire, and that if anyone sights him or someone who follows him still, must be reported."

"So…" Raven felt relieved a bit. From just that information, it was still possible that the Emperor was not aware of her existence… but that didn't mean it wasn't possible either.

"That info was very shocking to all of us, because translated logically, that means Vader was marked as an enemy of the Empire. We had no idea why, and most of us didn't really find it smart to try and turn the Dark Lord in... Let the troopers deal with that."

Raven smirked, agreeing. "So… why are you not turning us in? After you return to the Executor or the Death Star, I mean."

That's when the look of disgust returned to Casco's face. He used the soldering tool to poke at Mech's claw, almost in a fidgeting, sulking manner. "I don't really know who's side I'm on…" he mumbled, hoping only she could possibly have heard him.

Raven raised an eyebrow. He continued: "Something happened two days ago when I arrived on the Executor…"

_I was right, something __**did**__ happen_. Raven had placed her tool down, listening fully to his story. To her absolute amazement, Casco seemed to spill out all his troubles right then to her.

"I arrived in the Mechanic Center and found that two of the workers who were stationed on that ship were both Wookies. Both of them had a horrible illness, which wasn't contagious to any other specie, and it prevented them from performing their tasks at full quality. I reported my concerns to the Tech Leader in the Center, suggesting that the Wookies should take time off to recover in the infirmary. The Tech Leader's response was this: 'We have a busy load. They will keep working until finished, no matter what.' I offered to take up some of their projects so that they could rest more, but he only laughed at me. Said 'one human could never even cover the work quantity of one Wookie.' It's true… even a sick Wookie can produce more than a healthy human male. But the next morning, both the Wookies did not show up. I found out that they both deceased in their sleep from whatever sickness they had. The Tech Leader's only comment to it was: 'It's none of our concern now… they either overcome it and keep working, or die. Besides, the Emperor has retrieved more slaves to replace them… we might even get two more Wookies.'" Casco's face froze up in a very intense stare. "This is not the first time I've seen this happen…"

"It's absolutely sick," Raven commented. She remembered vaguely what the Wookies looked like. Furry, tall creatures that were not human; but that gave no excuse to treat them in such a way.

"When I heard you had been labeled a traitor for trying to run away, I felt angry and appalled by you. But recently, I've done some thinking… And its amazing…" he started to solder more of the metal on one of Mech's leg. "You've only been apart of the Empire for a year or so… maybe even less… but you already saw how corrupt the Empire's system is and tried to get out. And now that I'm starting to really see it and accept it for what it is, I feel like a complete hypocrite."

"I think I saw it immediately, because I was forced to be apart of the Empire. I had no choice, which, I assume you did. You chose to work for the Empire." Raven said, starting to work again.

Casco shrugged. "Sort of. I joined because I was going through tough times and could hardly support myself financially. The Empire was the only easy way out of it."

Raven nodded slowly, as she began to open up the casket to Mech's chest just above his laser system compartment. There was another pause in their conversation again. Raven hunted through his wires for his power trip in the core.

"Well," Raven began. She then didn't really know how to word her thoughts properly. She bit down on her lower lip as she thought. Then, she found herself say: "Are you on our side or theirs?"

It was a pretty straightforward question, and even though he had answered it earlier, she still had to get a straight answer.

"I'm not going to report you, if that's what you're asking." He replied.

"That's good to know…" Raven mumbled, half chuckling with relief.

"I do not know if I am really with you, though… I have an idea from some rumors I heard about what you and Vader plan to do. There has been hush talk that the Emperor and Darth Vader have been having disagreements about how The Empire has been handling things. Such things that the Emperor has ordered… things that Vader felt bitter about. It seems to me that you and Vader plan to try and reconstruct the Empire… and the reason I cannot fully side with you, is because for all I know, Vader's plans for the Empire could be even worse than how it is now…"

"You have a point," Raven said, not looking up this time from her work.

"Which…" Casco now brought his voice level down significantly to a whisper, "Is why I wonder why you are following him. Why are you putting your trust in a man who has killed thousands in the name of the Emperor?"

This time Raven shrugged. "I honestly couldn't answer that…"

"You just… don't seem like that type of person to me."

"Perhaps its because I've seen something in him that no one else has…" She said softly. She still did not look up to meet Casco's gaze.

"You mean…" he began, his tone changing. But he did not continue… he kept it to himself. "I just hope… whatever you plan to do, if you are successful, I hope it's for the good of our universe."

"Me too…" Raven replied.

They then continued to finish repairs in silence, to make up time for their conversation.

…

Mech: REBOOT. STARTING UP…

Vader watched with tightly folded arms across his chest and deep gasps of air as Raven finished the last tweak to her droid, bringing it back to life. His mind was buzzing with so many thoughts. Not only was he tense about how much time they still had before the troops aboard the Phoenix would come after them, but he was also contemplating over Raven and Casco's conversation. He had spied on them through the Force, checking to see if Casco was perhaps planning on reporting them and their whereabouts. There was a strange feeling of reassurance that came over him when he heard that Raven did, truly, side with him, even over the negative facts. This only helped strengthen his confidence for his plans to try and overthrown the Emperor.

"Is all his systems repaired?" Vader asked.

"Yes," Raven said, bowing her head slightly. "He should be up and running any-"

Immediately, Mech's joints shuddered and he jumped to life. He let out several barks of electronic sounds and many frantic glances all around. He then calmed himself, realizing that his last memory of his situation was not up to date to his current location.

"Mech." Raven said. "Reboot Respond."

Mech blinked at his creator. "Analyzing. Reboot successful."

A warm smile came to the girl's face. "Good to have you back, buddy. I'm going to need to update you on everything while you were out."

Vader saw the droid eye him suspiciously but respond once again positively to Raven's words. He knew, with this hound and this girl, their chances against their enemy would be higher now.

The Dark Lord then turned to Casco and nodded to him. "You may return to the Executor now. Your work here is done." The Mechanic bowed to him and gave a quick glance to Raven.

"Thank you, Casco." Raven said, grinning in a friendly manner to him.

"Good luck." He said.

Vader had stripped down this man's mind inside and out. He sensed no betraying thoughts in him. It was safe to let him go. Once Casco left the room, Vader turned back to his apprentice. "Get ready to prepare departure. We need to get a TIE and get as far away from this sector as we can."

Raven frowned. "A TIE? But… they can't jump to hyperspace… can they?"

"If the Phoenix still has the newer models, then yes, they can. And they can jump quite a distance."

"Can a TIE fit all of us?"

"I will be taking the TIE. You and your droid will pilot the cargo ship."

"Why are you-"

"We might need to fight our way out of here…" Vader said coldly. His mind has searched across the entire ship… and he did not like the tense emotion he felt growing among the crew.


	36. Running 2

The hall was filled with the footfalls of the three beings. One, the Dark warrior; two, the Warrior's right hand; and three, the faithful hound.

Raven stayed close to her master, keeping her full attention in tuned to the Force. Any moment, she suspected a trooper to turn on them. Surprising enough… they had not run into one storm trooper as they walked away from Vader's hyperbaric chamber. Seemed to be a good thing... but what it really?

'_This isn't a good sign.'_ Vader's thoughts fed to her. _'I sense several presences near the station controls and the fighter bays. More than usual…'_

'_As if they are waiting for us…' _Raven commented. She felt Vader's aura touch hers sharply. He agreed, and he wanted them to both be ready.

Before they had left the hyperbaric chamber, Raven had Mech's weapon system fully loaded and ready. The hound was also on full alert, willing to do anything to assist his master or Darth Vader if they were attacked.

'_Should I follow you to the fighter bay? Or should I go to the other ship bay and prepare the cargo ship?'_

'_Go to the cargo ship… once we reach the next floor.'_

Raven swallowed a hard lump in her throat. _Flying that cargo ship alone… with most likely thousands upon thousands of TIEs swarming it… with the chance of having little to no weapon system installed on the shuttle…_ Raven shivered. Sounded like absolute suicide.

'_Do not worry… I will make sure to launch before you and meet you at your docking bay. '_

There was a feeling of doubt in Raven's mind. _'You… against all of them?'_

There was almost a smirking resemblance in the change in his aura. It was as if she knew if he did not have a helmet over his face, she would be able to see a huge grin on his face. She could sense his confidence returning to this situation. _'I will protect you.'_

Her heart leapt, but she fought back those human emotions. _'Okay.'_

They reached a lift. It opened with a mere gesture of Vader's hand. They entered, barely able to fit in. Mech sat down on his haunches, resting his head against Raven's thigh. Raven placed her hand on his head. This gesture seemed pointless, but she felt the need to put reassurance in her robotic friend. The hound knew, with his statistical calculations, that their chances of escape with the factors of the entire ship already alerted of their mark as traitors, was barely over 20%. The only reassurance Raven had from such a fact was she had not seen her master in combat in a starship. She only hoped he was a good pilot… a _**very**_ good pilot.

Once the lift reached their destined floor, it stopped… and stayed still. Raven bit her lip, waiting for the door to open. Several moments passed, and it still did not open. She turned to her master and he looked down at her.

'_They are waiting for us. They have the system locked tight.'_

Raven felt her chest swell with adrenaline. _So they were going to have to go out with a fight…_

'_Can you open it?'_

'_Yes, but be on the ready once those door fly open. I can sense several presences already moving around the lift.'_

Raven took in a deep breath. "Mech, have your lasers ready once those doors open."

Immediately, Mech fixed his eyes on the door, a low humming sound building up. He wouldn't be able to use his big lasers until they were out in the open.

_Here we go._ Raven gripped the shaft of the Dark Woman's ancient lightsaber.

Vader waved his hand with an incredible might, and the door flew open. Before she knew it, red lasers were flying in all around her. They zoomed by her face, her legs, and limbs, hitting the insides of the lift with a loud blast. Her ears began ringing loudly. There was only a two second pause before she came lunging out of the lift and the Force guided her the rest of the way. As if performing a choreographed dance, she leaped onto the first trooper and sliced his head clean off his shoulders. Then she skipped through more of the flaring lasers, and swung into the side of another trooper's torso. She could sense her master right behind her, as he first blocked sprays of blasters, and then made his own attack. With both Vader and Raven out and clear of the lift, Mech opened up his giant laser cannon on his back and unloaded on the storm troopers that had gathered around the left of the hallway. It had only been twenty seconds, before they had sliced, fried and slain every trooper that had awaited them at the lift. Raven pulled the purple blade out of her last victim, and swiftly turned her head to the left down the hall. Her master had felt it too; the Force warned them both of more presences approaching quickly.

"Which way?" Raven shouted. She turned and saw her master gesturing to the right. "C'mon, Mech." Raven gasped, as she and her hound quickly followed the Dark Lord down the metallic halls. As they ran, Vader's mind quickly hovered over hers. _'Do you remember how to get back to the docking bay?'_

'_Yes.'_

'_Good. At this next split in the hallway, go to the left. I will go to the right and find a fighter.'_

They came to the divide and they both left each other in opposite directions. Mech and Raven hurried down the left hallway. She vaguely remembered where she was going. The only help was the ship's layout was almost identical to the Executor. Thank god for manufactured designs. They had almost reached the bay that Raven was sure they had docked the cargo ship when several lasers came whizzing over their heads. Mech let out a loud growl, haulted and opened up his large canon again. He blasted the hot blue beam, vaporizing whatever enemy was right behind them. Raven whipped her head around, just to see the light fade and the dusty outline of men disappear. "Mech, c'mon, we can't stall too long!"

Her hound obeyed, returning his weapon into his body and darted after his master. He came up next to her as they ran, "Get on, it will be faster if I carry you." Raven leaped up and grabbed the handle on Mech's back, just as his speed kicked in and he bolted for the ship bay archway.

There was suddenly a heavy weight upon her. Raven's eyes fluttered heavily as she felt like her body was being crushed. She gripped Mech tightly, trying to hold on.

There was this presence. A very heavy presence… The very strength of it was pinning her entire body down… or so she thought. It was like a giant thumb had come down out of nowhere and was squashing her… like an insignificant insect.

Raven hunched over, tighting her focus with the Force. She fought hard to close off her mind, shutting it off from all outside forces. There was a voice in her head. It was bitter, deep and seemed to suck the very life out of her…

_**Who are you to entangle with our affairs?**_

The very sound… no… _feeling_ of this powerful voice almost knocked Raven out of consciousness. Her vision halfway faded to absolute darkness and then light rushed back to her eyes. Her body buckled and bounced limply on Mech's back as the droid rushed through the extra sprays of lasers in the ship bay. She was now only half aware of what was happening. She struggled desperately to shake this powerful presence that seemed to drain her energy away…

"Is that the ship?"

Mech's voice pulled her back to focus in such a rush, that Raven almost jumped clean off his back. She looked straight in front of them and saw they were approaching the cargo ship, which was nestled tightly in the corner of the bay.

"That's it." Raven said. She was regaining her strength, and her focus in the Force had returned. But her heart was now galloping quickly in her chest from that mental scare.

Mech came to a harsh halt next to the small ship. Raven jumped off quickly and began to ascend up the small ramp into the vessel.

"Mech, I might need your help again getting this ship up and running." Raven shouted over her shoulder as she sat herself down into the pilot seat. Her droid crawled through the narrow tunnel of the ship, and placed himself next to his master.

With several quick flicks of the wrist, pushing of two buttons and a desperate kick to the controls, the ship roared to life. Immediately, Mech plugged himself in and switched the defense shield on. The static force field popped around the ship, and the enemy fire now struck it continuously.

"The shield won't last long on this small of a ship…" Raven said. Her thoughts then jumped through this bay and reached out for Lord Vader.

'_Have you gotten a TIE?'_

There was a pause, and then his thoughts rested within hers.

'_Yes. Launch now.'_

Raven gripped the controls on the ship tightly and thrusted the metal ship into the air. It hovered slowly for a second until it was aligned with the ship bays energy field, and then shot out with enormous speed. It was surprising… Raven didn't expect such power in such a small vessel.

The cargo ship flew out into what looked like a swarm of insects…. A giant cloud of hungry vermin. Raven gasped in horror. The Phoenix had released _very_ TIE fighter out after them.

"Look there!" Mech barked.

Raven glanced quickly to their right, only to see one single TIE flying next to them. It immediately released a stream of green lasers into the swarm of other fighters. In response, the enemy TIEs screeched in a loud roar and scattered in every which direction. Two or three were hit dead on and exploded, knocking into several others in the process. Raven's eyes went wide… she had seen nothing yet… but a feeling of full faithfulness overcame her for her master.

The single TIE next to her zoomed around and began circling into a patch of the swarming TIE and continued to spray its cold strike upon them. The other TIEs, which were not being fired upon, flew around and began firing up the rogue TIE as well as shooting upon Raven.

"Shit!" Raven pushed down on the throttle of the ship, avoiding a heavy hit of lasers. The top of the shield got skimmed and its power dropped to 45%. Immediately, Vader's TIE now turned sharply around and began firing among all the other TIEs swarming around Raven's vessel. As much as Raven tried to avoid all lasers and crashing into other vessels, her protector captivated her. Vader flew like… like a **God**. He danced brilliantly through the vacuum of space, weaving in and out of each obstacle. Every fire he made was a direct hit on his target. _Bloody amazing…_

'_I told you I would protect you.'_

Her body shivered. _'Thank you.'_

Before she knew it, half of the TIEs were already down. The rest of them were flying helplessly around, merely trying to avoid the wrath of the Dark Lord. They scrambled about, but Vader's pursue brought them to an end.

A noise filled the small cockpit. Raven glanced her eyes down and saw a message hailing on the comlink. She received it:

"Attention Imperial Cargo Ship. Turn back around and report to your previous docking bay."

Raven blinked in disbelief at the comlink. She then shouted: "Fuck you!" With that she turned off the connection and laughed. Mech only watched her, unsure of her sense of humor. She knew that she and Vader were in so much trouble, and probably in a lot of danger. But this sense of rebelling was overwhelming… and it felt good.

'_Where are we going?'_ Raven asked her Master.

There was another pause from her master. He then replied. _'I'm sending you coordinates. We are going somewhere far… somewhere that the Empire will next suspect.'_

'_Where is that?'_

Such a place didn't seem to exist. Raven felt that the Empire knew every corner of the galaxy and could find them anywhere. What place could they possibly go that He wouldn't think to look? She then felt the desperate need to tell him about the powerful presence that had almost crushed her. That fear of whatever it was seemed stir in her head. But he knew already… he must already know. And that was why, she sensed, he had picked this particular location.

Vader's presence seemed to linger over Raven, almost in a painful sense.

'_It's a place I haven't been to in a very long time…'_


	37. Hidden in Sight 1

(AN: I apologize to all of you who have been waiting so long for this chapter update. I've been terribly busy with an art portfolio. Also, something specifically for this chapter, wasn't too sure about the fuel the vessels use, so I improvised. If anyone can give me resources for the correct or more realistic fuel, please note me :) Enjoy.)

There lied vast space before them. Colors, strings and tangles of stars… all morphing away behind them as they shot through thousands upon thousands of kilometers of the empty vacuum.

Raven sat in the pilot seat, turned towards her mechanical hound. "The hits barely skimmed through your armor."

Mech nodded his head slowly. Raven took her fingers, feeling the marked damage of the blasters on Mech's metal coat. The metal had already cooled off from the heat of the lasers. The troopers' aim was not quick enough to strike through and hit any important parts in Mech's system. Only a few stray shots had barely scalped the sides of his chest plate and shoulders.

"Nothing I can't touch up and fix later." Raven smiled, patting Mech on the top of his head.

The ship's coordinates were set automatically to their destination. _But where…?_

"Naboo…" Raven breathed, looking back to the navigation monitor. "Sounds like a nice place…"

Mech looked over to the visual image of the blue planet on the screen. "It once was one of the largest republics in the galaxy. Use to be a lush, peaceful and gorgeous place to live. Now the Empire has reshaped it. The whole planet became a harvest sight for plasma, a very valuable energy resource, strictly for the Empire's use. However, it is only the cities, the outskirts and the plains that were remodeled… the swamps and seas were left untouched and preserved for the natural wildlife."

"Good thing I had so much of the galaxy information installed in you. So you think we will be safe to hide here?"

Mech blinked and nodded. "The harvest sights are still in use but hardly any Empire activity comes through the planet's atmosphere anymore. Hardly any citizens live there now."

"Do you know how many Imperial troops are positioned there?"

"That, I do not know… classified. I can guess not many since the amount of vessels that come in and out of the city is 80% cargo ships."

Raven leaned forward on her crossed legs, her hands supporting her chin. "I trust Darth Vader knows this is a safe place."

The ship roared and ripped through the air current as it passed through the planet's atmosphere. Thick cloud cover surrounded them, blocking the front windows of the vessel. Raven squinted her eyes through it, waiting to see any clear sight of land. Suddenly a large lake formation appeared below them, surrounded by a lush swamp. Raven could see Vader's TIE landing several meters away, just as her ship began to slow and descend towards the ground.

_**Hssssssss**_

The ship's door opened and the walk ramp came down. The steam of hot carbon dioxide puffed out of the pores of the ship.

Just as the two emerged out of their ship, Raven saw her master had already begun to walk towards them. His body seemed stiffer than normal.

"Is this the place?" Raven asked.

Vader did not answer. Just as he made it next to them, he began to peer off into the trees of the swamp. "We will make shelter there. The natives shouldn't bother us."

Raven was about to look towards the destination he has assigned them, when a structure caught her eye. She saw a beautiful stone house nestled on the edge of a cliff on the opposite side of the lake. Vines, moss and other plants had already grown around it, securing it in this cozy blanket, slightly hiding it from obvious sight. It had a balcony extending out of it which probably casted a wonderful view of the entire landscape.

"Master… what about that place? Is it safe? Maybe we could stay there.."

"No." He answered. She was a bit stunned by his quick response, especially since he didn't even look to see the place she was suggesting.

"But… why n-"

"I said, _no_." His voice was now cold and sharp.

Raven froze up and dared not say any more. She turned back to the structure one more time. It looked so peaceful and welcoming. Perhaps… he had seen the structure on their way in? And he knew that there might be something unsafe about it?

Vader was now striding towards the trees. Raven then turned to follow him. "Come along, Mech." She said.

Her hound broke its eyes away from the house on the cliff and trotted after the young girl.

…

That late day, the two worked to move their ships deep into the trees for cover. They also spent time putting together a shelter big enough to protect them from the natural elements.

This gave Raven plenty of practice using the Force to move large objects. Vader tried to explain to her that the size really didn't matter in an object, all that mattered was one's concentration. She struggled at first to move in her cargo ship, and even moving tree branches around.

They had set up a decent shack shaped structure, supported by a large boulder. They sat in the dark, with a fire glowing in the middle of them.

"Thank you, Mech." Raven said. His laser eyes made it easier to start a fire.

Vader still remained stiff and quiet. His mind, Raven could sense, was way out there, pondering and concentrating on other things.

"Master, I thought you said we shouldn't be using our connections with the Force too much… in case the Emperor is looking out for us."

Vader did not reply immediately. "I have to keep touch with the Force. It keeps me calm and focused."

Raven nodded slowly, gazing at his masked face. The light from the flames made a warm, glowing reflection on his face. It was very captivating.

Suddenly, Vader stood up and walked out, grumbling angrily to himself. Raven frowned. _I didn't make him mad, did I?_

After he was far off in the forest, alone, Mech turned to look to his creator. "I've been doing some thinking, Raven."

Raven turned, listening.

"That structure that was over by the lake… was once the home of the Senator and Queen of this planet, before the Republic turned into the Empire. There has been several resourced evidence that it was also the place that she had affairs with a Jedi knight."

Raven's eyes firmed as she listened more intently. "Affairs?" Jedi's did not seem like the type to be involved in scandals.

Mech continued: "That Jedi was also suppose to be the Chosen One."

Raven gasped softly. "You mean Anakin Skywalker..."

Mech nodded.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked her hound.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the reason Darth Vader is so on edge is because of this history. He is a Sith Lord. Perhaps he knew of the Chosen One."

"If he did, he probably didn't like him much…" Raven put her hands tightly together and rested them on her knees. She leaned forward, resting her mouth and chin on her hands as she thought.

"I'm curious to know if Skywalker had a connection with Lord Vader… but I have a feeling it would be a bad idea to bring it up…"

Mech nodded again, agreeing.

Several minutes had passed by and Mech had laid himself down and turned himself off into sleep mode. Raven found a stick and began poking the fire softly, watching sparks to dance wildly around the thick smoke.

Loud footsteps snapping on twigs and brush came from nearby. She jumped a bit, but then saw the outline of Vader emerge into the light. He sat himself back down, holding some things in his clenched hands. Raven was about to ask when he held one of them out to her. The smell of blood immediately rushed to her noise.

"Here. Cook this and eat."

Raven hesitated and took what ever it was into her hands. It was scaly and had large, glazed eyes.

"Thank you.." She said quietly. She took the stick she already had and stabbed through the creature. She then held it over the fire. "What about you? How are you going to eat?"

"I won't be able to without a hyperbaric chamber…"

Raven looked over at him with a concerned look. "How long can you last without food?"

"Long enough…" Vader said, his voice still sounding cold.

Raven looked down at the fire, becoming silent.

"I will need your help changing out my respirator's filter. I can make it last for several days if I don't do too much physical activity."

"How many clean filters do you have on you?"

"Two more, not counting this one." He said, revealing that that was what he had in his other hand.

Raven bit her lip, worrying even more. "Will... that be enough time to train here?"

"Only if you stay productive and not waste my time."

That struck something painful in her. She was not expecting such hostility. _What was wrong with him..?_

"Master… if you don't like this place, why did you bring us here?"

Vader's fists clenched tightly and his rubber gloves squeaked against themselves.

Raven waited anxiously for an answer.

"The Emperor knows I don't like this place. It will be the last place he would think to look."

Raven frowned a bit. "Wouldn't it be a place he would think to look, because you have some sort of association with it?"

Vader did not reply. Raven felt her whole body lock up, as he stared a cold look through his mask and right into her body.

"This place is too **painful** for me. He wouldn't think I'd ever return."

"…Sorry," She whispered softly.

Vader turned away now, not even wanting to look at his apprentice anymore. His aura was pulsing with black rage. He was trying so hard to contain it.

Raven looked back to her dinner, turning the stick around slowly to make sure it all was well cooked. Once the outside of it looked smoked enough, she brought it away from the flames and held it aside.

"Wot must I work on the most?"

Vader was still staring out into the darkness, practically ignoring her.

"Master, is there anything I can do to speed up the training?"

"Right now, I just want you to be quiet and concentrate with the Force." He practically growled at her, still not looking back toward their campsite.

Raven frowned, a little bit of anger swelling inside her. His attitude was starting to irritate her. Her fist had started to clench the stick tightly until her hand shook.

_Wait… Is he doing this on purpose?_

She flashed a suspicious look back to Vader. He still did not look back. He did not even reach out to her with the Force. It actually felt like he was avoiding her aura.

Raven took in a deep breath, holding in her frustration and brought the creature to her face. She felt it on her lip to see if it was still hot, and then took a nip of it. Tasted lean. Almost like frog. She began to feast on it, taking in heaping bites of juicy meat. She didn't realize how hungry she had been. She looked up again, and found Vader had still not moved from his original spot. She could not reach him with her mind; he was still blocking her out. So she angrily forced her attention back to her meal.

She ate in the silence; the silence that was slowly becoming bitter and awful under the weight of a fearful struggle.


	38. Hidden in Sight 2

She woke drenched in sweat. She felt around in the dark in sheer panic. A hand grabbed her wrist.

"Settle down."

"Sorry… I thought that dream was real."

Her mind still lingered over the nightmare. She was struggling against some shadowy figure on a ship. A vast window that revealed the stars was to her left. No light had come into this room; accept for the faint purple glow of her weapon. The being she was feinting off was lurking in the dark... somewhere… waiting for her guard to drop. Suddenly, it had grabbed a hold of her and she felt a high jolt run through her body just as she woke back in the swampy shelter. The fire had gone out hours ago. Everything was so dark.

Vader had reached up and grabbed his apprentice once he noticed she was struggling in her sleep.

"The dream was not real."

Raven let out her breath deeply.

"You must learn to control your thoughts. Be more aware."

"Sorry, Master."

He let her hand go viciously. She could hear his breathing becoming deep with frustration.

"Rest. Go back to sleep."

Raven settled back down on the tarp they had brought from the cargo ship. She struggled to relax her mind. She did not want to face that figure again.

_How can I distract my mind?_

She opened her eyes again and looked over where Vader would be in darkness. She could think of him…

Her heart started to beat quickly. _No I couldn't… not here._

Her senses started to pick up his emotions in response to her thoughts. She heard him shift slightly in dark. Her teeth clenched.

He could hear her, couldn't he? _Bloody hell… _How could she have forgotten that if he was this close to her, her thoughts were practically being spoken allowed to him; as if her voice was amplified on loud speakers; as if his ear was pressed against her breasts and he was listening to the loud pounding of her heart.

This made her think of him close to her body. Touching, tightening. **Tensing.**

"Stop." He said, irritated.

She shook her head, her body burning with embarrassment. _Fuck, fuck, stop it! _She told herself.

_Just go to sleep…. Go to sleep…_

She closed her eyes tightly and began to breathe in deeply, mediating on the thoughts of just jumbled colors in rays of patterns. Soon the bright vapor of the Force was among it and the very energy caressed her face softly. _Calm. Just be calm_.

The light began fading and she went back into the dark dreaming world.

…

Where was she? Something felt different.

There she stood in the swamps. Yes, the very same swamps they had taken shelter in. And there he stood before her.

'_Concentrate.'_

She looked up into his masked face. They stood far apart, almost 2 meters away, as if they were stanched to spar.

'_Wot are you going to show me?'_ She asked him, almost on instinct.

Vader nodded slowly. _'First, do you know where we are?'_

She was confused at first. Weren't they in the swamps? She thought she remembered waking up that morning in the shelter. And he announced that they would quickly begin some new training. Didn't he?

'_No, you did not wake up this morning. You did not hear me tell you about training.'_

'_So this is a dream…'_

Vader nodded.

'_This is going to save us a lot of time by training you in your sleep, but at a cost… you will become physically and mentally exhausted. You will literally have no time for real rest. You have to use all of your concentration and endurance to make it through.'_

Raven tensed nervously.

'_Can you do it?'_

'_I don't know.'_

'_I don't want to hear that answer.'_ His presence began to overwhelm her head.

'_I promise to try as hard as I can.'_ She reassured him.

'_That is still not what I want to hear.'_

'_But-' _Her eyes became wide as her voice was cut off. His presence was now physically upon her, pressing down on her chest. She struggled to focus, but he was heightening her senses to the max. Her vision was becoming hazy and her nerves were firing out of control. What was he doing to her?

'_Don't make me overcome you. You have to believe you can do it.'_

The Force around her was grabbing her, pulling her as well as pushing. She felt pleasure and pain hitting her at all different angles at once. It was too much…

'_Stop..'_

'_Not until you concentrate.'_

'_I am! Please…'_

'_I know you can do better.'_

'_Vader, Stop!'_

He was standing in front of her, his chest against hers. Her head was arched back as far as it could go so she could stare wide eyed into his masked face. She could feel the veins on her neck pulsing and her hormones firing crazy commands inside her mind. She shook her head, fighting it. Somehow she could sense he was smiling down at her. _Was he gaining pleasure by watching her flail at his mercy…?_

'_You disappoint me.'_

'_No..._' Her teeth gnashed together. She felt rage bubbling underneath the ecstasy and the pain.

'_Are you really weaker than I thought?'_

'_No!'_ She managed to force her hand away from his mental grasp and grabbed a hold of one of his arms. She clenched it tightly and instinctively. She didn't mean to cause him harm… But…

She looked down at where she had grasp him. She focused on his arm she was squeezing under his suit. It wasn't flesh. It felt… like a metal skeleton. Just like Mech….

She glanced back up in slight shock. The pain had lifted. And Vader stood there, still and calm, allowing his apprentice to still clasp him in her grip.

'_You see… you can do it.'_

She narrowed her eyes back up at him._ 'You did that on purpose…'_

She heard a chuckle escape his respirator._ 'That does not matter, so long as I can bring the strength out of you. Anger is that strength… as well as your most important ally.'_

'_I don't like it…' _she growled.

'_Indeed. Which will help the training even more.'_

Raven looked down at her feet bitterly. She felt her consciousness becoming lost in the rage. Her vision was becoming dark. She was waking up… She couldn't stay under.

…

She awoke with a gasp. When she felt her air choking her, she let out several violent coughs. She rolled on to her stomach, coughing more.

"Breathe. You are not choking."

She stuttered a bit more until she breathed normal again.

"Our training is going well so far. But it's just begun. Get up."

Raven slowly stood up and looked about. Vader was standing outside their shelter. He was gazing at her, impatiently.

Raven's eyes hardened and she stepped out, facing her master.

"You ready?"

"Ready for w-"

The red light saber had come swinging down at her. She only had enough time to react and dodge his attack.

"Wot the fuck!" She yelled, groping at her belt for her weapon.

"Don't just stand there like a fool!" Vader bellowed at her, as he swung at her again. She managed to jump over the attack and land perfectly on her feet this time. "Defend yourself!"

Raven finally grabbed firmly on her ancient light saber and extended the glowing, purple blade in front of her. Vader's saber came down on top of it, and the two weapons hissed angrily as they popped and fizzed.

The light of red and purple reflected brightly against the black mask staring down into her eyes. His breathing was becoming quick and deep.

He was looking into her, and she knew it. This filled her with rage and fear. _You're reading me… you're opening me up and stripping me bare and __**reading**__ me._

In response, she felt his smile through his mask. His strength was overpowering hers. He leaned in close and sneered; practically spat in her face. "Prepare yourself, my Apprentice. I'm about to break you down, destroy you and rebuild you."


	39. Hidden in Sight 3

(AN: Again, I apologize for such a late update. I looked and found that I already had the next chapter half way written so I decided to take sometime to finish it. I'm sorry its so short, but I can't reveal anymore... not until the next one. :3 Enjoy!)

One strike down. One more jump.

_I'm so tired._

Another strike, and another jump away.

_I can't keep doing this._

Vader's breathing had become thick and heavy as he continued to lash out at the girl. He didn't seem to be tired in the least. And yet she was struggling to barely avoid his lightsaber's unforgiving blade.

He could see she couldn't fight back. _She must_. The rage boiling off of his aura was sticking in the air around them.

"You're giving up." He sneered. It was more a statement than a question. He gave her no time to respond back. "You are just going to give up and allow yourself to die."

Raven held her lightsaber close to her face as the red blade came hammering down. She barely had the strength to push it aside and gain more distance.

"I'm not allowing myself to get killed." Raven said, growling.

"I don't believe it. You're not even trying. You see what you are doing? Barely getting by. That's what your kind always did."

_My… __**kind? **_Raven felt a rush of anger.

"Young apprentice, are you just going lay down and die along with your planet Earth?"

He was smiling at her. She was sure of it. How could he be so cruel?

"Are you going to give up on them this easily?" He struck at her again. She fell back several more steps until her ankles were again a tall boulder. **Cornered.**

"You are the last one. Are you going to let that entire race end here? End so soon?"

"I… I am not the last one." Raven gasped. Her mind went back to the first day aboard the Death Star. She thought of the seven other people standing in the room around her. They were simply strangers to her, but they were still her people. People from Earth. And there were more… she was sure of it. They had taken four individual people from each country. That's what they had said…

"Are you so sure of that?" Vader said, lingering over her memory with her.

Raven was now furiously gnawing at her lip. She felt so much anger trying to bubble out.

"After we found you, what use would the rest of them be to us? For them to fit in and be of good use to the Empire, they would have taken too much time… too much effort… and for what? Something that any of the other members of the ship could achieve. Why bother?"

"What did you…" Raven was so scared to ask. The image of that younger boy's face came to her. She saw his scared, trembling body… so pale and bleached out among the dark, confinding, metal walls.

"We disposed of them. One by one."

Raven felt a heated rush shoot through the tips of her toes to the back of her skull. Her teeth gnashed so tightly, she heard a crack inside her jaw. With half a second, she was in the air and flying towards her master.

…

_There it was again._ So perfect and so powerful.

Vader saw the rage purge through Raven's tiny body and ignite her like a fire. All it took was emotional pain to light that glorious anger. He held his red blade up in front of him, ready to defend himself from her wrath. She came down hard on him, and struck deeply on his stance, knocking him back even farther than expected. His raspy breath stumbled as she clawed again and again with her saber, and he danced with her, slightly off balance.

**Amazing. **Look how much rage changed this small girl into a deadly weapon. He now had it. He had found and created the perfect trigger to her power.

Her strikes became more violent as she let out cries of agony. Some of them even got through his defenses… a blow to his left upper arm, a gash in his cape, a knick in his chest armor. He could feel her frustration towards him in her attacks. How dare he make her feel this pain and rage and she cannot return the feeling upon him? He chuckled softly as he continued to dance around her attacks and deflect her blade carefully, feeling pleasure from how much control he had over her.

So much control… and yet deep down, there was shame in doing so. He understood how she felt now. It was the same feeling of pain he had once the Emperor had finally grasped control over him.

But this was necessary… This was the same process necessary to make him once the most powerful being in the galaxy. Now he had to do the same to her.

…

Still, her strikes did not break through his barriers. She cried and screamed, lashing over and over at him.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU AND YOUR EMPIRE AND FUCK THIS WHOLE GODDAMN PLACE!"

Pure belligerent. She was blind at this point. All she could see was the color red.

It got to the point where her strikes were no longer tactical, but wild and desperate. Vader saw this and finally made his own strike. With one careful swing, he spun Raven's armed hand in an awkward angle, forcing the light saber from her grasp. The blade flew from her fingers and before Raven go reach for it, Vader grabbed her wrist with his free hand, holding her tight. Her raged eyes spun towards him, and glared him down.

"You are done." He said, withdrawing his blade. Raven's other hand made a tight fist and flung toward him for a punch, but he was ready for her and caught her in is other hand. "Stop, Raven…"

Raven was sobbing now, but her strength was beginning to drain. "Why.. fuck… fuck you…"

Vader grinned a painful smile under his confining mask. "Calm yourself."

Raven shuddered slightly, trying to free herself from her master's grip, but he would not let her go.

"Is it true…?" She managed to ask.

Vader did not have to question, he knew what she was thinking. Her emotions were opening up her thoughts clearly to him, like a book.

_'No… I merely said all that to release your anger.'_

Raven's fists clenched tightly. _'That was a cruel thing to do…'_

_'Don't think it was merely for fun, my apprentice. It showed me that I now know how to make you tap into your true power.'_

Raven began to understand, but still she shook with the left over adrenaline. Why was she acting like this? Why were mere words affecting her this way?

_'Because you believed they were true… you felt betrayed…'_

_'What… what really happened to them?'_

Vader paused, and slowly let her hands go. "I am not sure… I was not in charge of assigning them to their specific places."

Raven looked up into him, her eyes searching. She tried to reach into his mind, to know if this time he was telling the truth. _'I only put myself in charge of you.'_

Raven nodded slowly, her gaze settling down to the dirt patch they now stood in. The environment around them came back to her senses, and she listened to the wilderness all around.

"Raven," Vader breathed.

She looked back up.

"I will be ready to face the Emperor. Then we can put all this behind and straighten out the galaxy the way we want it to be. We won't have to hide or fear any more."

Raven's heart jumped a bit. His words sounded unreal, coming from someone like the Dark Lord. Did he really mean that? Would he keep her that close to his side, even after it was all over? She tried desperately to reach inside his mind. She wanted **answers**. But still, the doors to his thoughts remained tightly locked and sealed away from her.

_'You know, you make it hard for me to restore your trust in me… when I'm not even able to trust you…'_

Vader breathed deeply on her words. She could feel the thoughts turning in his head, being this close. They were so close to her understanding, and yet covered by that barrier of his will.

_'What is it that you want to know so badly?' _He asked through the Force. His presence was delegate with her. It was a strange sensation coming from him.

_'Everything…'_

She could see the joints under his suit lock up.

_'I know hardly anything about you… what are the thoughts in your head that you locked up so tightly?'_

Vader turned and looked off in the distance. There was a hesitation there, and she was sure of it. He didn't know what to say to her. Was it really something so deep and buried within him that he couldn't bare to surface it again?

_'They are a dark place for me… I don't even allow myself to fully understand them.'_

She knew it… He was human after all. At some point, some time in his life, he had experienced some sort of painful event, leaving him scarred mentally. She looked around again, observing this place. The sun had come up high above their heads now and was leaking in bright sunlight through the trees. _It was this place… wasn't it?_ He did seem to act different when they arrived here. This place… this was somehow connected to that memory he blocked out. She wouldn't be able to get into his mind until they had left this place… it must be too painful for him. She looked back to Darth Vader. "I'm sorry to bring it up. I won't again."

Vader nodded, dismissing it from their conversation. "We need to work on your physically training. We now know what we must do to release your anger… but you need to control it."

Raven swallowed, and prepared her body and mind. "I'm ready."


	40. Hidden in Sight 4

"Pull up, goddamnit!"

He strained the throttle so tightly, he heard his entire ship screech painfully as it fought against its own propelled motion. _Such a bloody cry… _With a sharp spin and slight adjustments, the tiny fighter leveled out again and flew towards the others to rejoin the formation.

"You're a reckless idiot sometimes, Jack."

"Aye, Cap'n." He smiled softly.

"I know you are one of the best at target practice, but for bloody sake, don't get too cocky! We don't wanna have to replace you."

"Aye, Cap'n" He repeated.

"Now, try it again, and this time give yourself more space to maneuver from the target."

His TIE sped away from the formation again, and twisted through the obstacles. His crosshair lined up perfectly with the bullseye.

**FIRE!**

The lasers sprayed angrily from the TIE's nozzle tip, showering the target. With that, he pulled on the yaw again, flipping the vessel around and back towards the group.

"Better." He heard through the transmission.

"How many did I get?"

"Looks like all four shots hit, and two would have been critical."

Before he had time to smile and gloat in his sharp shooting, an emergency call rang through all of their comlinks.

"ALL TIE UNITS RETURN TO BAY AT ONCE. REPEAT, ALL TIE UNITS RETURN TO BAY AT ONCE."

_Another drill? _Jack wondered.

The TIEs let out cries, almost out of disappointment as they flew into the docking bay, single file. Jack felt the gravity pull down on the ship as he entered the energy fields and he prepared to land his ship in its assigned placement. Once the hatch popped open, Jack jumped out of his pilot seat and flocked with the other squad mates around their captain.

"What's going on?" One of the other pilots asked.

"Men, it looks like our destroyer is moving into attack position. We're chasing after a traitor of the Empire." The captain's face went pale as he listened to the announcement sent to his comlink. The rest of his unit gathered around him, eager to know the news.

"Is it the apprentice girl?" One of them asked. The same thought had came to Jack.

"Worse…" He said, swallowing a lump in this throat. His eyes darted up to the men huddled around him. "We are going after Lord Vader."

…

Off in the distance, a loud cry echoed throughout the valley. Possibly a bird, possibly some predator trying to lure out its prey. Was it hunting? Was it searching for a meal? Her stomach lurched and she groaned, rolling over onto her chest.

_Food…_

She couldn't sleep being this hungry. But she couldn't eat, not yet. Vader instructed in order to increase her physical strength, she had to without food and without comfort. Only sleep. This would bring out her true strength.

Would it? Or would it just kill her?

She buried her face into her arms, trying to meditate on something else. _One and half more days… Then you can eat all you want. _Her stomach kicked her again.

"Mhhmg.." She rolled over again onto her back, staring up at the large boulder propped up above. After training the entire day, she was left famished. Sleeping wasn't enough to restore her energy. This hunger wasn't going away; she needed a distraction.

She turned to the side to look around in the darkness. The fire in the hand-made pit had probably gone out again hours ago. Towards the opening to the shelter, she could see his silhouette, a perfectly black shape against the dimly lit wilderness. Lord Vader breathed deeply, but it was softer than normal. The raspy pull in his lungs sounded calm and content. Raven propped herself up with her forearms and listened more. A jolt of sudden excitement sprung through her. _Was he…. asleep?_

She reached out with the Force very carefully, hoping to not disturb him. His mind was still closed tight, but indeed, it was unaware. A smile crept up her face and a spark flashed in her amber eyes.

It seemed strange, but she had never actually seen him asleep. He always seemed to be awake even when she slept, spying on her in her dreams. Now he was the one asleep….. and perhaps dreaming? She sat all the way up and crawled slowly over to him on her hands and knees. Once she was a few inches away, she sat next to him, listening and watching with large, curious eyes.

The deep breaths were steady, continuous and easy. _Good… that half-assed filter replacement seems to be supporting his respirator still. _

Her eyes fell onto his masked face. She felt the tug of curiosity again. So badly did she want to see what his face looked like. But like he said, it didn't matter. His true face was no more.

_Still… That mask isn't your true face either._

Her eyes fell down to his gloved hand that rested easily on his knee. _Relaxed. _How many times had it been where she had seen those gloved talons gripped so viciously? Always tense and full of bitter anger. Her hand shook slightly as she reached for him. Was it only when he slept did he finally ease that tension? As softly and carefully as she could, her fingers interlaced around his and she gripped them gently. Her eyes closed and she smiled to herself. In the back of her mind she heard her inner voice mock… _Wot is __**wrong**__ with you?_

_Who fucking cares? _She argued back with herself. _I will most likely die in the next couple of days. I don't have to be alone._ The Force's white vapor crept around her and tangled around them both. It did not pulse, rather lulled about and caressed her senses. She felt it beckoning her deeper into trance. She followed it.

…

It felt darker. It felt cruel and suffocating. _Where… wot? This isn't familiar. _

_'You are in his mind.'_

Her heart quickly began to gallop. _I'm where…?_

"_My love…"_

Her body jumped.

_"I was so worried about you."_

Was that a woman's voice? Who was that?

_"Have more faith, my love. I am here and you are safe now."_

That other voice wasn't recognizable either. Who are these people? Her eyes did not show her anything. Everything seemed fuzzy and hazed. She could not see where those voices were coming from. _Are they… in my head?_

Suddenly a light stabbed her eyes and she was standing on that balcony of that beautiful house looking over the lake. A woman was looking out over the rail, dressed in lush white clothing. She turned to look towards Raven. The air escaped Raven's lungs and tightened. She was so beautiful. Her eyes were so kind and warm, and yet they looked so sad. So heart broken…

_Who are you? _She wanted to say. But no words came out. The woman continued to stand there. She didn't seem to be looking at Raven, rather far passed her in a deep and lost thought. Those eyes… Why was she so sad? Why would such a beautiful and loving woman be so upset? The sky became dark. The light was fading fast. Tears were beginning to roll down the woman's face.

_No, wait… _Raven felt her eyes burn. She was crying too. Her vision of the woman and of the balcony and the beautiful house was fleeting._**Wait…**_

The woman suddenly shrieked, her voice trembling painfully: _**"ANNIIIIEEEEE!"**_

...

Cold fingers where tight around her throat. She gasped for the little to no air she could get. Her eyes hadn't adjusted yet and fear was drowning her in this moment of panic.

"What do you think you were **doing**?!"

Her master's voice snarled down her ear and it left her chilled. She swore she heard Mech's low growl and the hum of his laser gun. She struggled to speak, but the grip on her neck was much too tight. She struggled under his clutch trying to break free. Her eyes focused in front of her and out of the darkness, his mask emerged into view. His breathing returned to its harsh and raspy sound, and the rage was bubbling off of his aura.

_'I'm…. sorry…' _She pushed her thoughts through the Force towards him._ 'I'm… so sorry….'_

His eyes penetrated her mind through those black lens. His Force plucked at her mind like gnarled figures, angry to find truth. He searched her, stripped her and exposed her.

Her eyes did not leave his mask. Mech continued to growl warningly and she could see from the corner of her eye that he had pulled out his laser cannon and aimed it at Darth Vader. Vader paid no attention to the hound's threat, his attention and power was all focused on Raven.

"Why?" He asked. It was so simple but still the rage shook his voice.

She could barely think… the air was thinning and she felt herself fading. '_Want… help…'_

The air plunged through her throat violently and she coughed as he released her from his grasp. A shudder rippled through her entire body as she gulped down each precious breath.

"You… have… to trust me."

Vader had turned away from her and was peering out into the dark. Raven struggled to her feet, coughing still and trying to recuperate. Mech had put away his laser gun and stepped towards Raven, still eyeing Vader warily. Raven gave him a small tap on the head for insurance.

"Vader…"

He was listening but still did not look at her. He was still bathing in his rage.

"You have to trust me… at some point or another. Otherwise we will be killed." She could feel the Force swirling about him as he thought. "You should know by now that we can't fight together and actually have hopes of winning if we don't trust each other." She reached up and rubbed her neck softly, feeling the skin burn. "I put my trust in you… please, do the same for me so I can help you."

"You broke into my mind." Vader hissed. His cape now covered up most of his body from view, shielding him away from her. She knew she shouldn't have done it. The pain was too much for him to share and she disrespected that.

"I know… I'm sorry… I didn't…." She swallowed dryly, wracking her mind for the right words. "I didn't mean to invade your private thoughts." She hoped he would believe how sincere she was. The images she saw still didn't make much sense to her. She couldn't possibly piece it together, at least not right away. She still should not have looked...

"Master…"

Vader finally turned to look at her. His gaze felt piercing, still full of hate.

"I promise I won't ever do that again… not without your permission. I'm…" She got down on one knee and bent her head. "So very sorry…"

…

His breath had stiffened. What was this in him where he could not trust anymore? Not after all those years ago… He couldn't trust them. No one. They could turn their backs on you any moment, any time.

But his apprentice's words were true. He had to put some trust in her otherwise they would not be able to fight together against the Emperor. They had to be strong together, both mentally and physically.

_Palpatine… _Vader's fists tightened. _He will definitely plan on using this against us. If he senses any distrust in either of us… we will be finished._

"Raven."

The young girl flashed a glance back up. Her eyes appeared redder than normal, especially around the edges. He gazed down at her for a moment, thinking deeply.

"Forgive me." He finally said. "I don't trust easily."

"I understand." She said, nodding to him respectfully.

"Does it hurt?" His large hands reached slowly to her small neck. He did not touch, **dared** to not touch her there again. He just gestured at the red marks starting to appear.

"No… I'm fine."

"Good." He took a deep breath and looked back out into the night. "The sun will be rising soon. We must continue our training."

Raven stood up and joined him by his side. He looked back down at her one final time. "It seems I have training of my own as well."


	41. Hidden in Sight 5

The entire station began to vibrate as it entered hyperspace. He felt it in the table first then the tools began shake on the metallic surfaces.

"Fuck," He cursed under his breath as he fumbled the device he was tweaking with. His hands were beginning to shake out of control. _Deep breath. Calm down._

"Promoted just a week ago… and I am already overwhelmed by the pressure."

Casco Gylides had to double time the production with his mechanic crew ever since the Empire discovered the traitorous behavior of its one and only Lord Vader, and decided to hunt him down. Grand Moff Tarkin, the highest rank of the battle station instructed that every gunnery post be repaired and ready for any sort of combat. Apparently every turret needed to be armed by a trooper because Vader was completely unpredictable when it came to ship combat. Casco gritted his teeth as the electric surges from the turret's wiring pricked his senses. _Every fucking gun needed to be repaired…_ _Every one._

"Captain Gylides, I have the report for the turrets in section 54."

Gylides sighed a bit, but did not look up from his work. "What's the damage?"

"Sixteen total."

"Sixteen!?" He exclaimed. His hand slipped, causing the bladed side of his tool to gash open two circuits. "Fucking shit!"

The man next to him hesitated and did not say a word to this outburst. Sixteen was a heavy load of turrets to get done in one day, especially with the crew clocked in already eight hours ago.

"…I'm sorry, Arlian, that was very unprofessional of me."

"Professional, my ass. The Empire is working us too quickly and too harshly, even if it is going after Darth Vader. They can't expect us to keep up the formal act as well. It's okay, buddy."

Casco, sighed and looked up at the towering man standing next to him. "Please, don't call me Captain Gylides. You and I have known each other for half our life and we are too good of friends, even for appropriate standards." He made a half smile, looking back down at his busted circuits.

"We'll get through this." Arlian said, patting him on the back. "I've already finished the turret at the far end of the hall. I'll go ahead and take two other crew mates and get started on section 54."

"Thank you…"

Arlian nodded and headed off down the gray and dreary hallway of the Death Star's millions of areas. Casco thought to himself, feeling a small conflict. He was actually worried for the safety of Vader, and more importantly, young Raven. Those two were strong, but against the wrath of the Empire? They were specs on the face of a moon. The Empire was never forgiving, no matter who. A traitor was a traitor. And the Empire always executed its punishment for traitory the same. Cold, harsh and swift.

"Be careful, little one." He whispered. _Stay in hiding. Don't let them find you. _

_Or so help you._

…

She dreamed of that woman's face. That beautiful and sad woman.

The woman stood there on the balcony still, but did not look towards her. She only stared deeply out over the lake. She was searching… or waiting… either way, she looked so hopeless and depressed.

Raven so badly wanted to know who this woman was. Who is she to Lord Vader? How was she so important that she was buried so deep in the darkest places in his mind? She'd never be able to ask. She would have to wait for her master to somehow tell her. What were the chances of that though? Then there came a burning sensation in her chest. A heavy, frustrating feeling. Jealousy. That's sure what it felt like. This beautiful woman probably meant a great deal to Vader at some point or another. Possibly more than Raven was to him now… The fiery enviousness eventually stirred her to reality.

She awoke, with her fists clinching. Mentally, she felt her mind being pried at as she slept, probably due to her huge amount of emotion, and fighting out the presence all night left her physically tense and soar. After gaining full consciousness, she felt how weak her body was. She was in no condition to stand.

"Master…" She whispered.

She could hear his raspy breaths. He was struggling to breathe with his filter going out again.

"Yes, my apprentice."

"It's been 8 days. We both have not eaten and only had a small amount of water. We can't go on like this."

He was silent for a bit. It was true they had been out here for a long time. Training was successful, however they were growing weak with fatigue. He felt she was ready in strength… but her mind; it was almost there. If she could not push passed this final barrier, it would all be for nothing. If _**he **_could not push passed this final barrier… he would fail them both.

"We need to leave this place and find food." She said weakly.

"Yes. We will. However, I have one last task for you."

She grimaced at the thought of more training. Her dry lips parted as she sighed. "I cannot move anymore, Master."

"It does not involve physical movement, young one."

Vader came into view above her. He slowly knelt down and he hovered just above her where she lay.

Raven's eyes fluttered in surprise. She wasn't sure what he was about to do, nor did she have much strength to react. But her heart was starting to kick in her chest. _Wot are you doing?_

"Relax yourself and concentrate on my words." His large, gloved hands came and cupped around her face, and he arched her head upward. She felt her face grow hot under those cold hands as he brought his masked face close. Now their foreheads were parallel to each other. His voice came pooling into her mind fluid and clear:

_'Focus on the Force around us.'_

She did. She felt the world slow around them, and the comforting white light of the Force flowed into her view. It waved and flickered just between the two of them.

She saw the light feeding like a gas in his vented mouth piece and out into her direction. She breathed in this vapor and back towards him. It repeated. She felt the Force building a connection in her lungs and in her throat. It was in her nose and behind her eyes in her mind. It feed on her as well as nourished her. And she was sure it did the same to him. She knew what this was. Their minds were uniting. Stitching together; and the Force was their needle and thread.

_'We must stand strong together.'_

_'Strong… Together.' _She repeated after him in her mind.

_'Even if we have doubts, we must lock them up tight.'_

_'Lock them up…'_

She felt his energy overwhelming her now. It was like he was inside her; Inside her head and in her heart. He was in her blood and her muscles. They felt like one.

_'We can't show any weakness, young Raven. We must appear invincible to the Emperor.'_

_'Yes.'_

It was then that a vision started to appear… No, not a vision but an idea. The white fluid vapor of the Force was starting to energize and plant an idea in her mind. First it started with a big open lake. A big, white, clear open lake. It was clean and revived from all the pain in the world. She and every living thing would be standing in this big open lake, and the white waters would reflect back up into the sky above. Renaissance was in the air and anima was fluttering in her breath. And in the distance… in the very horizon there would be a towering buildings of marble shine. Strong-held and powerful, but also peaceful and organic.

There would stand the new Empire. One that would satisfy all.

And inside those strong marble towers, there would be a room and a single, giant chair. Normally this would symbolize a monarchy or some higher power. But instead, it would signify an ideal ruler that protected and watched out for its people. That chair was the start of this beginning… but it lacked the key. It needed that one simple thing, that being to start off the chain reaction. It needed one person to start the movement and make the change. Who was the key? Was it Vader? Could Vader really be the one to make a change for the better? Can he bring peace and order to the galaxy?

_I will help you rebuild this world, build a new Empire. And we will spread love like violence._

Raven knew, no matter what, she had to be the aid to this change. And her aid was in the form of her emotions and her compassion.

'My love will spread like a wildfire. It has no rationality but it also knows no pain and sorrow. It only knows to comfort and care and give strength to all that stands in its path. It will consume all the rot and suffering in this life and replenish this generation of beings. The greatest miracle.'

Her mind kept this in the back of her skull. It was too small to share just yet, but it was just a personal spark of hope to help her push through. Her eyes opened and looked into the mask of Vader above her.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Stronger." She said with a reassuring smile.

"Good…" He replied, now taking her hand and helping her stand. "We can depart this pitiful place now."

"Wot is our plan, Master?"

He glanced back over to her. She felt his gaze size her up before he responded. "You need to eat first, for one. You look very thin…"

She chuckled. "Was the fasting even necessary?"

"More than you know, but now it is over and you need nourishment."

"So do you…" She said, eyeing him disapprovingly. "You need to regain your strength just as much as I do."

"We'll see if that's even an option for me. I won't be able to eat without a hyperbaric chamber. I'd rather not take the risk of getting to one aboard one of the Star Destroyers."

"Surely we can find one in a medical institution somewhere?" Raven suggested.

Vader shook his head. "I need one designed specifically for my suit and respirator."

Raven gave him a worried look. "Don't you think you won't have enough strength to fight if you don't eat?"

"I will be fine."

Raven sighed, not fully convinced. "Alright, then. If you say so."

Vader turned to her, and merely replied: "I do say so." His voice rolled off his tongue with full confidence and authority. She shivered… _Bloody hell, his vocals were so deep and dark. So powerful and overwhelming._

Then she felt that familiar feeling as if he was grinning through his vented mask at her… because he had definitely read her thoughts and knew how intimidating he was to her still. And that made him glow with pride.

She merely grinned back. "Okay, then, shall we depart back to the ships' locations? And hope that they are still there where we hid them?"

"Yes."

...

"Commander, take the battle station in close to the planet once we exit hyperspace. But wait for my next command."

"Sir."

The old man stood, glaring out the blaster-proof window into the empty cold waters of space. He felt a trimmer in his lips as he fought the urge to smile. He had fantasized and lusted over an opportunity like this. He had wanted this moment to happen, even if he thought he could only play it out in his own mind. The powerful Lord Vader… the precious pet of the Emperor… The one nuisance that stood between him and true power within the Empire. So badly he wanted that obstacle knocked out of his way. But that could never happen… Vader seemed to be all bark, but he was definitely a huge threat to the mere normal human being such as himself.

_**But now…**_

The dream had become reality. Grand Moff Tarkin had been ordered personally by the Emperor himself to hunt down Darth Vader and bring him to an end; at any means _possible._

_Oh, he would have much fun with this, much fun indeed._

The Grand Moff bit down on a finger as his smirk grow bigger and he continued to ponder on the delightful thought. "Lord Vader… now **you** will fear me. Now it is my turn to make you squirm and shiver under my grasp."

The Death Star slowly closed in on the Chommell system. Soon, the planet of Naboo would be in its range of fire.

…

The Death Star's vibration was merely there in the midst of hyperspace, but it was just enough to off balance a TIE in flight. The pilots could not train, which left them feeling unproductive.

Jack sat with his crew, restless and anxious. His first midst of combat might be upon him in a matter of minutes. Damn, was he scared and excited at the same time. It had been so long since he had aerial combat… What did his crew feel at this moment? He was sure they had already fought in combat before. He was the only one new to this, most likely.

He glanced over at his vessel… at his _bird_. The metal surface was very reflective at this angle and it seemed to call to him. He badly wished to plant himself in that cockpit and fly the darkness of space. _Soon… Sooner than you think._

…

War would be upon us very soon.


	42. War 1

(AN: Sorry, guys, I just had to earlier...)

"Where is it?!"

The scanners rang empty. The signals were lost. There seemed to be no physical traces left.

"We had it in sight just a second ago!"

True, a vessel had shown up on radar once they had emerged from hyperspace. But now it was gone…

"Sir, it's possible he made a jump to hyperspace again?"

"There is no way that vessel still had enough fuel to make another jump! He must be jamming the frequencies. Find him!"

The giant moon-like station hovered dangerously close to the atmosphere of Naboo. The metal giant had its scanners and com links running at max distance and speed. Hungrily, the Imperial army searched for its prey, counting every possible distance of empty space around the planet's pull. Search, Scan… where is he? Where is _**he**_!?

…

The TIEs continued to make circles around the Death Star, waiting for an order, a ship, a _sign_. The pilots were restless, the ships were thirsty.

Jack soared with his assigned team, losing himself in flightful bliss. This was better than sitting around, even if it wasn't combat. Slowly, though, he felt the scratch in his brain, telling him that this was just not cutting it. Soon, he would start to _really_ itch for more excitement.

The fighters cut through the empty vacuum in tight circles, holding ground but scanning the area. The sound of the engine screamed inside the cockpit, pumping Jack's blood with adrenaline.

_C'mon.. give me somethin' to shoot at!_

Finally a command was made: "TIEs return to your ship bays. We are jumping into Hyperspace again."

Jack's grip on his ship's throttle tighten and he let out a frustrated groan. _The bloody Dark Lord is on the run… _

In single file and with an elegant swoop, the teams plunged back through the plasma fields and into the mother ship. A pause. The moon warped horizontally and zoomed back into the high speeds of hyperspace.

…

"It won't take them long to figure out where we are headed…" Vader breathed, still tense at the pilot's controls. They were not going very far so they would be exiting hyperspace in a matter of minutes. He had to be ready to fly them quickly to the next destination.

"And you are sure this port still has a hyperbaric chamber?"

"It will have it. But whether or not it still works.. I don't know. Maintenance hasn't been needed on it for a while now, because I have not visited this port for almost a decade."

The blur of stars started to slow. The cargo ship's deminsions returned to normal.

"They have a much bigger hyperdrive than this small cruiser. They could be on-"

His voice cut off as the Force pinched his nerves. Sure enough, a giant mass came up on the radar just behind them. In seconds, thousands of tiny vessels came forth and were gaining speed on them.

"The Death Star is here!" Raven gasped. It was no good saying it aloud, but the fear squeezed it out of her throat. _And the TIE fighters will swarm us soon._

Instead of them all flying in an attack position, Raven watched on the radar as they fanned out and started to spread, covering more area.

"They are falling out of offensive alignment," Mech reported.

"Wot are they doing?" This formation was strange and didn't seem practical. They were wide out in the open, they could easy just ascend on them all at once. So what were they up to?

"Master?" Raven asked, seeing if he had noticed the pattern of TIEs. He did not respond, he kept his focus straight ahead.

The radar displayed the several dots spread out and then gradually make a curved turn back towards the large battle station that was slowly following behind, making sure to keep it close. Raven bit her lip, completely stumped. _Unless… _She looked back towards Darth Vader, whom still was completely focused elsewhere. She felt the Force strongly building around him and being released out around them. "Are you…?"

His breath became heavier, tired it seemed. He then struggled out: "Take the controls."

He moved aside just enough to let Raven grip the throttle and continued to push their cargo ship towards the station dead ahead. His focus was still strong, and his aura seemed tense and tight. Raven wanted to ask, almost sure what he was doing, but feared to break his concentration. She continued to awkwardly hold the throttle over him in the pilot's seat, until it started to strain her muscles too much. "Master, I'm having trouble reaching the contr-" He didn't even let her finish, he merely moved her just in front and sat her down on his lap. She gasped allowed, taken by surprise and almost losing her grip on the steer. But still, his focus was elsewhere and Raven fought back her flustered stumble to keep tight grip on the controls.

I feel… like I child sitting on him.

She didn't realize until now how massive he was physically compared to her. It didn't effect her any differently, but being this close pumped her heart full of excitement, even though now was not the time for such emotions.

A whisper came into her ear. "Get us docked quickly and immediately shut down the ship's engine once we have stopped."

The chill darted down her spine, but she nodded sharply.

Still, Empire continued to search in circles, completely ignoring them and not taking the opportunity to attack. The closer the cargo ship got to the docking ports on the station, the more Raven was sure of Vader's little plan.

"Just as I thought…" Vader breathed, a small sense of excitement creeping in his throat. "The station is still abandoned. Dock there." He pointed to the docking shaft.

Raven eased the vessel into the port, locked it down and shut the engine off. Vader still remained tense for several moments, until he let out a louder than normal gasp, the wheeze powering through his rusted respirator.

"Were you.." Raven began, eyeing him curiously.

Vader took a grip on her shoulders, nudging her off his lap, as he stood next to her weakly. "I used the Force to put a strong barricade around this ship. It prevented it from showing up on any of their radars. We were just far enough away to not be seen by the TIE fighters."

Raven stared in silence, completely amazed. He was so strong in the Force. And still she learned something new and incredible about the abilities of wielding it.

"We should be safe now. Come."

Raven turned to Mech, looking him in the eye. "Stay here and guard the ship… incase we have unexpected visitors." The droid sat itself down and held still, acknowledging the comand.

Raven and Darth Vader disembarked from the cargo ship and stepped into the dark, cold and lifeless station.

…

"How could they have just vanished? That doesn't make any sense!"

The pilots were in an uproar, angry that they were given false promises of the most epic battle they may have ever fought. All of them were probably going to die in the process… some would be proud of that, others… relieved.

Jack also wanted to enjoy the rush of combat, even though he didn't feel so keen on the idea of possibly dying like the rest of his team. It meant a great deal to anyone in the Empire to die in the midst of combat. And to be taken down by a greater skilled pilot was an even bigger honor. And Vader was an_ incredibly_ skilled pilot. A cold chill washed over Jack. Somehow he knew if he did get the chance to go up against Vader, even if the Dark Lord was out numbered a million to one, they all wouldn't see the next day. He's heard stories… and witnessed the Death Star's TIEs fall to his power. That single TIE of his cut through them in a matter of seconds and left the stragglers to beg for mercy. But Vader never shows mercy. His heart was just as cold as iron grip. If he is tailing you in the darkness of space, there is no hope of escape. There is no hope of survival. You best make mends with your God or Goddess or what ever you pray to then and there...

"Jack!"

The pilot nearly jumped out of his uniform to the sound of his captain's call. "Stay sharp, we might be called back out any moment. Don't drift off on me, stay in your own head."

"Aye."

The irish man, now the last of his kind, as far as he was concerned, grabbed his gear and reunited himself with the rest of his crew.

…

The halls were dark. The metal almost seemed to creek under their footsteps. She almost expected there to be a musky smell in the air; like dust or mold… A smell that came with sight of an abandoned structure. But not in _space_.

_Now… where is that hyperbaric chamber? And can we get it started up and working again? And if that is achieved… how do we even plan on getting-_

_'I know it looks like a hopeless attempt to get out of here. The Empire has us pinned down.'_

_'So what are you planning?'_

_'I have several things in mind. We shall see what their move is first…'_

They continued down the hall until Vader spotted a control panel. He peered into it and pulled a switch, and immediately a low groan leaked out of the walls and ceiling above. A single, white light shined down onto them both. "Some of the ion fusion reactors are still working," Vader commented.

He paused and looked down at his apprentice. Her eyes had dilated, even though she had arched her neck all the way up towards the light. There was a sense of fear in her eyes, but also comfort. She was confused. He realized this moment she was experiencing.

"Raven."

She hesitated before the look of daze left her face. "Yes, master."

"You are not dreaming."

"I know… but the scenario is just too similar."

Vader paused again, absorbing the emotion that she was emitting. "Come, we need to find the chamber."

With long strides, the Dark Lord descended down the pitch black hallways, and his little apprentice trotted after him, close on his heels.


	43. War 2

The interior design of this battle station was one of the coldest and bleak the galaxy had ever seen. But it worked. Low, gloomy lighting, minimal panelling, dark coloring; It brought hopelessness into the enemies' hearts and it brought sternness into the loyalists. It showed that the Empire was solid, firm and thorough and had no time for individualism or uniqueness. It held strong because all the feet, labor and hearts that powered it were one. A giant machine of power. Tarkin walked down the halls, his boots clapping loudly on the black floors, admiring this idea he fathomed in his head. The Death Star was the ultimate symbol for perfect power. And it was at _**his**_ control. How he loved _**this**_ control.

"Sir!" A commander approached him, breaking him out of his thoughts. "We've hunted around this entire area and even checked station E74 three times. We only found two cargo ships that haven't been flown for almost a decade docked there. No sign of Vader's TIE."

"And you are absolutely sure they aren't on either of those ships." He asked through gnarled teeth. He was slightly irritated to be reminded of their lack of progress on the hunt.

"Sir, we checked those vessels thoroughly and didn't find him anywhere. It would be very difficult for a man his size to hide out in any of those ships' compartments."

"Are you giving me attitude, Commander?"

"Sir, no sir. I'm merely stating the facts, they are very small cargo ships."

The Grand Moff leered, but let it pass. He was too concentrated on finding Darth Vader and bringing an end to that oversized robotic man. "Well don't just stand there now, continue your search!"

The commander quickly saluted, turned on his heels and sped off. Tarkin turned back to the window, worrying on his finger with his front teeth. Lord Vader had always been a mysterious one, full of tricks. But a vanishing act? _Impossible… _His old religious connections with the Force couldn't possibly give him such a power. He can't stay hiding for long. They would find him. But soon enough? Fast enough to meet the expectations of the-

The commlink in his ear buzzed as he was hailed an alert. The old man clenched his jaw as his stomach told him he had an idea who it was by how quickly it turned over.

"**Why haven't you found him yet?**"

"My Lord, we are searching. I have doubled the search now and we're making sure he doesn't slip passed us."

There was a pause and to the Grand Moff's surprise, a soft cackle. "**Lord Vader has the Force on his side. Don't let your guard down or it will be the end of you, Tarkin.**"

"I understand, my Lord."

"Actually…"

Tarkin raised an eyebrow. There was a pause.

"**He will find his way to me. I sense it… Continue your search, Grand Moff. But also be prepared for a visitor to this battle station very soon.**"

Tarkin didn't like the sound of the Emperor's certainty. But he had to obey his orders. The only orders above his rank. _Hopefully not for long… _

...

The metal cocoon closed around him and the loud hiss of oxygen flowed out from below. He closed his eyes, and tipped his masked face up towards the metal claw reaching for him. It gripped down and released the seal, and he was free to breath through his mouth. He inhaled. A smile almost appeared on his face.

_'Master…'_

_'Yes, my apprentice.'_

_'The troopers are getting awfully close. We can't hide the fact that the hyperbaric chamber is on. If they come too close, they'll discover us here.'_

_'Keep a watch, Raven. If they do get too close, take them out. But be swift, silent and careful.'_

Her mind wandered away from his as she continued to patrol the entrance to his lair in the shadows. He knew she would keep him safe.

_Interest. Was this how it felt to trust again?_

He felt a cold and bitter feeling wash over him and he quickly bathed himself back into his concentration with the Force and forgot the thought.

The machine's around him finished a scan of his suits condition and immediately began to work its programming to repair the damages. He rested his arm out for the machines to begin to replace his missing hand. Then another began to tweak at his back, replacing the filter and soldering the metal plate back in proper place. His one good fist clenched and he grinned to himself. He felt his strength returning. He felt confident again. But _she _didn't…

_Raven… _The young girl needed to hold together with him, or the Emperor would tear them both apart… He breathed in deeply, contemplating. _Perhaps she needed one extra push…_

…

Her eyes batted in the dark, as she held still and low in a corner. She listened. She watched. There hasn't been any sighs of the Storm Troopers yet… And last thing she wanted was to get in any entanglements with them. But if she had to pull an assassination to keep their presence secret, she would, no matter how much it still bothered her.

She closed her eyes; they were useless to her in this darkness. She used the Force to travel through the halls around this small station, feeling and looking. Two troopers were scanning through their cargo ship again, for the fourth time now. They couldn't tell it had docked here an hour ago… not after hacking out the crew log and replacing it with a fake one. The engines also had enough time to cool down. Her presence slinked through more halls… one trooper, two troopers… three troopers… four troopers… There were only six of them left. And they were mostly occupying the front of the station. They had given up on the back part, where she and her master stayed. _Just stay up there… For now… _Her mind travelled over to the other docking stations. Another abandoned cargo ship… and two Lambda shuttles. _All the troopers must have arrived on those._

_'Raven…' _The deep voice broke her concentration and she was kneeling in the dark again.

'Yes, master.' She replied through the Force. She felt the invisible threads of their thoughts weaving together as they communicated through the white, rippling waves.

_'Come back to the hyperbaric chamber room.'_

She hesitated and stood up. _'Is… everything alright?'_

_'Of course.'_

_'Are you done being repaired?'_

_'Yes.'_

_'Then wot is it?'_

She heard or felt no reply. But his presence was still lingering with her. She frowned slightly, but turned and headed back to her master's current domain.

"Master?" She spoke aloud now as she entered the room.

The cocoon shape of his chamber was wide open and the excess of the strong oxygen was leaking out into the room in a light vapor. Vader remained seated in the chair in the center of the cocoon, facing her. She could hear his energized breathing. With the new filter in his respirator, he sounded fuller and powerful again. She couldn't help but smirk a bit from this overwhelming presence. It… still didn't fail to impress her.

"Wot's wrong?" She asked.

"There is nothing wrong with me. But there is with you…"

Her eyebrows narrowed together. "I don't understand."

"I sense anxiety in you, young apprentice."

Raven shifted weight on her feet, bitting down on her lower lip. "Yes, I feel anxious. A little scared too."

Vader fell silent now, still staring into her deeply.

"Master, there's a good chance we are about to face Death. At any moment now. Is it not normal for me to be fearful?"

"It is quite normal."

Raven chewed a bit harder on her lip. "Then I don't understand why you're bringing this up, Master…"

"I can't have you this tense… you need to be confident when we go into battle."

"Then wot are you suggest-"

He had begun to stand and she immediately felt the clutches of the Force upon her. It was sudden, right between her legs, and it held her tightly but gently. "Uh-" She let out a quick gasp, as she felt her legs grow weak under its influence. Vader slowly began to walk towards the small girl and she began to shake slightly as the sensation of the Force fed her strong waves of overwhelming pleasure. It was all in the mind… but it felt real… and quite exhilarating.

He stood in front of her now. He still did not touch her physically, only manipulated the Force around his body and hers to caress her and sooth her nerves. Her back arched, her kneels left the floor and her neck tipped back. Vader reached with a gloved hand, slipping his thumb into her open mouth and gripping her jawline in his grasp. He kept her face towards him as his energy slipped in and out and around her body.

_'Master!'_ Her mind screamed.

_'Don't resist me, Raven. Let the Force consume you.'_

_**Let the Dark Side take you in its hold.**_

A faint vapor form began to peel away from his mask. It hovered inches away from her face and then plunged itself into her. She gasped again, the form feeling like flesh. A mouth brushed roughly against hers, fighting her lips widely open. Her mouth became wet… she felt a tongue caress her own. Her body began to twitch as she could not hold in several other moans of pleasure. The exhilaration was building and it felt like millions of electrical energy was exploding inside her. A huge, idiotic grin crossed her face, and her red eyes fought to stay open and to gaze into those tented lens on the masked face. Her mind became enveloped in a bubble of a pure euphoric dosage of dopamine. Vader watched, pleased greatly as he felt the incredible amounts of emotion build off of Raven. He continued to hold her, as he fed and energized her… satisfying her lustful cravings. He made love to her through the power of the Force alone.

…

The last trooper boarded the second Lambda shuttle in the docking bay. The first one had already taken off. The gloved fingers began to punch a code to close the ship's doors when a huge, shadowy figure moved passed and spooked him. "Who's there?!" He cried. In response, a bright red light hummed loudly, and sliced his head clean off. Two other troopers ran to the back of the ship to investigate the commotion, only to find their fate the same as their comrade. One by one, Vader took out the Troopers aboard this Lambda quickly before any of them could alert to the Death Star or the other shuttle.

Finally, all fell still inside, and Vader retracted his weapon.

'All is clear, my apprentice.'

'Okay.' She responded. She had crawled aboard their cargo ship and whistled loudly in a very specific pattern of notes. A small compartment burst open in response and Mech emerged through the tightly compacted space, his body readjusting and refitting back to normal shape.

"Good boy." Raven said, smiling. "Come now, we're taking a new ship."

The entrance way reopened with harsh force, and Raven and Mech stepped aboard the Lambda. Raven joined her master in the cockpit, who had already seated himself in the pill's chair and began to activate the engines and controls. Raven pulled the copilot's limp body aside and sat beside him.

"Now we follow aboard to the Death Star."

Before they could take off, the com link was hailed an alert. Vader picked up the link without hesitation.

"Lambda T4A891, report status."

Raven looked to her master, watching to see his respond. He said nothing, but merely took a hand and waved it slowly over the com link. There was silence for a few seconds and the com link turned off on their end.

"Weak minded fool…" He chuckled to himself.

The ship hovered its way out of the docking bay and followed the path its companion vessel took towards the giant battle station.

"Do we plan to fight our way through this? You know the Empire is going to expect troopers to exit off this ship once it docks."

Vader turned and took his gaze upon the mechanical hound. For the first time, he seemed to acknowledge Mech's presence. "We need your droid to distract them for us."

Raven raised and eyebrow as she and the hound turned to look at one another.

"it is capable of causing mass destruction, is it not?"

"Oh, very much so." Raven replied, proudly.

"Good. We'll need it to start an massive attack once we board the Death Star. Once the battle station has its full attention on your droid, we can board off and make our way to the Emperor."

"Wait… he's aboard the Death Star?"

"Yes. I have sensed him."

Raven worried her lip with her front teeth. "Then does that mean…"

_'Yes, he senses me too. He knows we are coming.'_

_'Then why hasn't he alerted the rest of the battle station already?'_

_'He has plans for us.'_

Raven swallowed the lump in her throat. Vader turned to her now. _'Do not worry, he isn't expecting what we have in store for him. He has no idea how strong you have become. We can take him off guard.'_

_'I trust your judgement.' _She replied.

He looked at her hard before he turned back to steer the ship forward. _'Thank you. Your trust will not be in vain.'_


End file.
